Enemies Clash
by malfoyisawesome
Summary: The life of Draco Malfoy as a seventh year. Draco faces troubles at home, at school, and what is this? Love problems! Mudblood, he spat angrily. That word didn't seem right to him anymore... DMHG
1. Summer Days

_Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter, it's all J.K. Rowling's work. Except this story, plot is mine. _

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Summer Days

"Draco!" screamed Narcissa Malfoy from the downstairs landing. Draco Malfoy groaned and turned over in his bed, staring at the silver ceiling. He uncovered himself from the blankets of his king-size bed, revealing a bare chest and silver boxers.

He walked over to his walk-in closet, selected a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and walked into his large bathroom. The walls were tiled in a delicate fashion; the floor smooth and spotless. He stripped off his boxers and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water fall onto his body. He washed his hair and body and stepped out. He used a drying spell on his hair and himself and stepped back to admire himself in the mirror.

"I love being of age," he said to himself, smiling. Or rather smirking, as that was the fashion of all of the Malfoy family. He apparated to his kitchen and sat down in one of the chairs.

A house elf came scurrying over to him and squeaked, "What came I get you, young master Malfoy?"

"Surprise me," he muttered, picking up the _Daily Prophet_ off the table and settled himself by reading the headlines, which mainly consisted of various attacks on mudbloods and muggles, some of which his father had taken part of. Nothing Draco was proud of.

He, as being the only Malfoy son, was to "continue" the pureblood line. His future was planned out for him: get goody-goody with the Ministry of Magic, become a death eater, marry Pansy Parkinson, and continue the Malfoy line. Doing Voldemort's slave work was basically it.

"Here you are sir." The elf had returned with his food: scrambled eggs, biscuits and a goblet of pumpkin juice. The elf bowed a very deep bow and walked into the sitting room, where Draco presumed his parents were talking. He began eating, thinking more about what the next year was sure to bring.

His father had already told him about the welcome ceremony that was to take place during the Christmas holidays. He was to come home from Hogwarts, be presented to the Dark Lord, take his oath and receive the Mark, and return as a Death Eater to Hogwarts. His father also mentioned something about plans the Dark Lord had for him right after he took his oath, but he wouldn't say anything.

But the thing that bothered Draco the most was the fact that he had no say in the matter. Did it matter to Lucius that Draco had no wish to be a death eater? Perhaps did Lucius think for a second that Draco did not wish to marry Pansy? Did he think that maybe Draco would refuse to take his oath? Of course not. Lucius did not know what went on his mind; he only heard what Draco said aloud, which was agreement to his plans.

But Draco only pretended to agree. He had made a stronger pact with Dumbledore last year, one saying that he would not take oath. Dumbledore had even asked him to stay at Hogwarts for the summer, but Draco thought better. His father would suspect something and demand his return to the Manor. No, he was safer here; for now.

Draco finished his breakfast and removed himself from the kitchen. He walked into the foyer, grabbed his cloak, and stepped out onto the Manor's lawn. He strode across the sloping lawns to a small wooden hut near a small stream. He unlocked the door with a series of taps from his wand, and opened the door.

The sight was amazing. There were rows upon rows of broomsticks, some old, some new. In the middle of them all was his brand new Firebolt, a gift from his father. Next to it stood his old Nimbus two thousand and one, which until this summer, was the broom he rode. He picked up the Firebolt and shouldered it. He walked over to a large crate, and unlocked it. Inside lay two bludgers, a red quaffle, and one golden snitch. There were a few similar crates around this one, in case he lost some of the balls while he played.

Draco took out the snitch, its wings unfolding in his hand. He stepped out of the hut and locked it once again. He began walking over to a cleared field which served as his quidditch pitch. Three towering hoops were placed on both sides of the pitch, 50 feet in the air. He let the snitch go, counted to 100, and mounted his broom.

Draco had not yet rode his new Firebolt, but was not surprised by its speed and ability to turn. He had, of course, seen Potter ride it, and move about with it with ease. For a few minutes he simply flew around, admiring the qualities of the broom. Pinpoint turning, fast acceleration; this broom had it all!

After a few minutes of delight and amazement, he began searching for the snitch. It had begun to rain, making it harder to see. _Better for practicing though_, Draco thought. He flew around, squinting his eyes to see better. He shot between a hoop and looped around another. Then he saw a quick flash of gold and was off. He was across the pitch in 5 seconds time.

He flew around following the course of the winged ball, his arm outstretched as far as it could go. As he got closer, a figure joined him in the air. He didn't know who it was, but he was after the snitch too. Draco urged his brook faster, now holding on with just his legs. He dived off his broom, caught the snitch in his right hand, and grabbed his broom with his left. He landed onto his broom and raised the snitch above his head triumphantly.

The figure lowered his hood to reveal similar platinum blonde hair to his. "Good catch there Draco. If you were half as good in your studies as you were in quidditch, you'd be smarter than the mudblood," Lucius sneered. Draco had thought for a fleeting moment his father had complimented him. He tried yet again, to explain to his father.

"She tries harder than me Lucius. If I was to work the same amount of time as her I'd have double her grades."

"No excuses," Lucius said as he began to descend to the ground, "I expect the best from you and that's it. And your letter from school arrived today; it's on the sitting room table."

"Yes _Father_," he spat. He landed on the ground and dismounted. His handed the broom and snitch to his father and walked back across the lawns to the front doors. He opened them and marched inside, throwing his cloak onto the ground and tracking mud across the carefully polished foyer floor.

At the sitting room door, he finally kicked off his shoes. He marched angrily into the sitting room, which played host to various coffee tables and armchairs. In the center was a large table for meetings, and on it lay a large envelope. Draco picked it up, and noticed how heavy it was this year. He unstuck the seal and opened. Four pieces of parchment fell out.

The first and second were the usual, telling him to catch the train on September 1st at King's Cross Station, Platform 9 3/4 by 11 o' clock. The second simply gave him a list of the needed books and materials for his seventh year at Hogwarts. The third one seemed highly official and Draco smiled as he read through it. The letter stated:

We are pleased to inform you, Mr. Draco Malfoy, that the pleasure of being this year's Head Boy has fallen upon your shoulders. We must impress the strictness and greatness of this position, and simply feel you are the best for the job. You will know all your tasks and duties perfectly as there will be a meeting at the front of the train. You will also meet this year's Head Girl and the prefects. Mr. Blaise Zabini will take your place as Slytherin prefect.

Hope your summer is well,

Professor M. McGonagall

Draco couldn't help but smile with pure glee as he looked at the letter. Head Boy, what he always wanted. But he was more concerned as to what the fourth piece of parchment was. Was it perhaps a letter personally from Dumbledore regarding last year's discussion? No, it could not be. Dumbledore was too smart to send a letter to the Manor, Lucius could read it. Interested, Draco read the following letter:

Draco-

This year you will present yourself as the Slytherin quidditch captain as well as the Slytherin seeker. Best of luck-

Professor S. Snape

Draco stared at the parchment and read it twice more before the message had sunk in. Head Boy _and_ quidditch captain? This would be something to celebrate had he been any other child. But in the Malfoy household, this was expected of him, nothing more than what he should have. There's only one think he really wanted more than this, but he couldn't have it. He pushed the thought from his mind, and went to tell Lucius the good news.

**A/n-First chapter is up! Please review! **

**Krista**


	2. Head Boy and Head Girl

_Disclaimer: Don't own it…blah blah blah…_

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Head Boy and Head Girl

Draco opened his eyes as a loud beeping sound filled the room. He groggily lifted his head off his fluffy white pillow. He glanced at the clock and registered the time: 6:30. He got up out of bed and walked across his bedroom into the bathroom.

Draco stripped his pajamas off and jumped into the shower. He took a half hour shower, thinking about the coming day. He would be catching the Hogwarts Express today, and traveling back to Hogwarts for his final year. He would see her today…The thought pleased him so much.

He stepped out of the shower, and dried himself with a drying charm. He changed into black Hogwarts robes with green trim. Under his name tag and the Slytherin crest, his placed his Head Boy badge. It gleamed silver from the reflection of the early sunlight. He used a blow dryer to dry his hair to give a wavy look. He admired himself in the mirror, and for once, thought that maybe he would impress her.

He stepped out of the bathroom, and began rushing around his room, picking up things he would need. He packed all his robes, jeans, socks, boxers, and shirts he would need. He placed his cauldron in next. He grabbed two sets of quidditch robes and stuffed them in there as well. He placed all his books into the trunk. He threw in potion ingredients, quills, parchment, and ink bottles. He grabbed a green cloak and put it in there as well. He shut it and magically locked it.

He took his wand off the bedside table and put it in his robes' pocket. Draco's eagle owl Clipper hooted as he rushed around the room. He closed the cage door and locked it. Placing the cage next to his trunk, he gave a last look at his room, making sure he forgot nothing. The house elves would bring it down later. He apparated to his kitchen.

"Good morning Mother. Morning Lucius," he called out to his parents. His father simply nodded and turned back to his sausages. His mother, on the other hand, came over and hugged him.

"Oh my Draco is in his final year at Hogwarts. We've been waiting for this," Narcissa said pleasantly. Draco knew all too well his mother's dislike for death eaters and Voldemort, but she, like Draco, kept it to herself. She also pretended to like the plans.

"Yeah yeah. Don't fuss. Where's breakfast?" But before he finished, a house elf came bustling in and set a plate of steaming hot food onto the table. Draco sat down and began feasting upon eggs, bacon, pancakes, sausages and toast. He took a large sip of pumpkin juice from his goblet and set it on the table.

"Don't forget your broom Draco. I can't see you off, your mother and I have an important meeting. Have a good term son," Lucius said and set off for his meeting room. Narcissa gave Draco one last hug and stalked off as well. Draco finished off his breakfast and went outside.

He took his Firebolt out of the broom closet and walked over to his pitch. He mounted his broom and pushed off hard. He enjoyed the soaring feeling of flying so much; he left his worries back on the ground. He flew around the pitch and thru the nearby wood for almost an hour, before retiring back to his house, his broom on his shoulder.

Draco merely glanced at the clock in the sitting room, noting that it read exactly 10 o' clock. He ate a quick sandwich and grabbed his trunk. He fit his broom into the small straps that he used each year to hold his broom onto his trunk. He held the trunk in one hand, his owl cage with Clipper inside in the other, and apparated to Platform 9 ¾.

The platform was already quite crowded, and the noise was unbearable. He hovered his trunk in midair and propelled it forward. He fought his way onto the train, and headed to the front. He quickly found the compartment labeled "Heads Compartment" and put his trunk in the hold above. He shoved Clipper's cage into the compartment and headed off the train.

He saw many families saying goodbye to their families. He immediately saw a large group of wizards and plump witch, all with flaming red hair; the Weasleys. One boy stood out, a boy with jet black hair and lightning bolt scar; Harry Potter. Draco marched straight over to the group, as three of them were leaving for the train.

"Potter!" he barked. Harry Potter wheeled around and noticed Draco standing there.

"Malfoy. What have you got you're stuck up nose pointed in lately?" he said coldly. Ron Weasley stood next to him, like he was his body guard. He was trying to put a smirk on his face, but it was terrible.

"Watch it Potter," Draco said, pointing to his Head Boy badge. Harry and Ron stood gaping at it until a loud whistle broke the tension. Malfoy turned on his heel and strutted away, a smirk on his pointed face.

He pushed his way through the crowd on the platform to get to the train first. He then had to fight his way up to the front of the train because stupid first years were blocking the corridor. When he was finally up front, he breathed a sigh of relief and pushed open the door at the front of the train. There were a group of prefects standing in a circle. Many turned their heads when he walked in. They waited another 5 minutes before Professor McGonagall started the meeting.

"Alright Prefects, Heads, settle down," she said curtly. "Thank you. Let us welcome and congratulate our new Head Boy, Draco Malfoy of Slytherin house." There was a polite round of applause and Professor McGonagall began speaking again. "And extend your gratitude to your new Head Girl, Hermione Granger of Gryffindor House." There was yet gain a round of applause for Hermione. Draco tried to smile at her but she wasn't looking at him.

"Alright. Welcome new prefects, welcome back old prefects. Now, one more thing before I address the duties. We have two new seventh year prefects that need recognizing. We have Harry Potter of Gryffindor house, and Blaise Zabini of Slytherin house, taking the place of Draco and Hermione."

Draco scowled at Harry as people clapped and patted him on the back. His gaze quickly softened as he saw Hermione congratulating him. He turned away quickly so no one would notice. Professor McGonagall had started speaking again.

"For today, prefects will take turns observing the corridors and making sure everything is on order. Heads will have their own compartment at the front of the train, where they make up schedules for the duty times of the prefects. You will be roaming the halls at night at least once a week for troublemakers. I hope I need not remind you that you are a figure to be looked up upon, and I hope you bring glory and respect to yourself and your house. Alright, that is it. Prefects, go to their jobs, and Heads to their compartment. See you at school," she finished, and apparated with a pop.

The prefects began filing out and the room slowly emptied. Hermione and Draco stepped out and Draco opened the compartment door for Hermione. Her cat was already in there, asleep in a basket. Hermione settled herself on one of benches and took out parchment, ink and a quill. Draco stood there and waited.

"Malfoy are you going to sit down or stand there the whole time?" she snapped and stared at him. Malfoy walked over, sat down, and mimicked her by getting ink, quill and parchment.

"Just waiting for you to invite me, that's all," he said calmly back, and watched for her reaction.

"Don't kid yourself ferret."

"Mudblood!" he spat angrily. That word didn't seem right to him anymore…

"How dare you! We're working together this year, and we have to sleep in dormitories next to each other. Can't you keep a civil tongue?" she practically screamed, waving her arms in the air. Draco thought this was quite funny, but didn't laugh.

"I'm sorry alright," he said quietly. He didn't look at her, but rather found more interest in the floor pattern.

"What?" she asked. Honestly, was she stupid?

"I said sorry Granger."

"For what? What does you're conscious say you did wrong?"

"Honestly Granger, they say you're smart! I called you a mudblood, and I shouldn't have. So I apologized. Now can we get on with this, I want to polish my broom," he said, louder this time. He glanced at her eyes, which now were nice and did not reflect anger.

"Oh. Yeah, we can."

Hermione and Draco spent the next hour and half devising plans for when the prefects would monitor the halls at night, and where they would walk. Draco found himself walking the halls with Hermione almost every night, and almost completely forgot quidditch practice.

"Hermione, I have quidditch practice that night, we'll have to begin later," he said pointing to a Wednesday night.

"What did you call me?"

Draco silently cursed himself for calling her by her first name. "I called you Hermione, why, did you change your name?" he said coolly.

"No, I…oh forget it. Skip the practice then, it won't always be that night will it?"

"I can't skip it; I'm captain of the team. And yes it is always that night, that's how I scheduled it."

"You're quidditch captain and Head Boy?" she asked. Why did she care?

"Yeah I am. Now how about we start an hour later, that way I can take a quick shower too."

"Yeah, alright. Ok, we're done. You can polish your precious broom," she said, and began taking out several school books. Draco laughed and grabbed him broom out of the trunk's straps.

Hermione looked up and gasped. "Where'd you get that?" she asked, admiring its gleaming surface and perfect form.

"A gift from my father. As I told you, my father can afford _the best_," he sneered and picked out his broom servicing kit from his trunk. He began to polish the handle and clip a few twigs that were bending out a bit.

Draco heard Hermione mutter something that sounded a lot like, "Harry has some competition this year."

"That's right Granger. No more pretty cup for Gryffindor this year. Slytherin is taking that cup, hate to break it to you," he replied and smirked.

"Whatever."

Those were the last things the two said to each other the whole train ride. Potter and Weasley came by to check on Hermione a few times, but said nothing to Draco at all. They must have realized now that he was Head Boy; they would have to be careful.

Once they reached the station, Draco left his luggage and owl on the train, and stepped out into the cold air. The giant oaf Hagrid was already calling the first years to him, and so he stepped into a carriage instead. The carriage was empty and he settled himself. Hermione, Harry and Ron stepped in next.

"There are no carriages left," Hermione explained, but Draco merely nodded to her and looked out the window.

"So, ferret boy, Hermione tells me you have a new broom," Harry said, glaring at Draco with the utmost dislike.

"That's right Potty. Did she tell you what make it is?"

"She tells me it's a Firebolt, is that true?"

"Again you're correct Boy-Who-Lived-To-Annoy-Me." After this Hermione suppressed a giggle. Draco smirked for making her laugh.

"Well, you're out of luck. I'm quidditch captain this year, and Gryffindor is keeping the cup."

"Is that so? I'm also captain Potty, so we'll see about your keeping the cup."

Harry scowled and was about to say something when the carriage door swung open and they could see other kids making their way up to the school. Draco jumped out first and headed inside.

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"Oh get on with it! I'm starving over here!" Draco complained loudly as the sorting ceremony began. Most of his friends were laughing and joking, but Pansy was more concerned with Draco's behavior.

"What's wrong Drakie?" she said in her falsely sweet voice.

"Shut it Pans, and don't call me Drakie," he snapped as his stomach growled loudly. Pansy turned away from him and began talking to Blaise Zabini instead.

The last first year was called up and sorted,( McTyrie, Nancy-Gryffindor!),and the food magically appeared in front of Draco. He began piling his plate with all sorts of food; steak, kidney pie, beans, potatoes, chicken, and corn. He poured himself a goblet of pumpkin juice and began to eat. He ate almost everything on his place, and drained his goblet. Dumbledore gave his final speech and Draco set off for the Slytherin common room. A hand grabbed his arm and began to lead him away.

"Our dormitories are this way Malfoy," she said pointing up the marble staircase.

"Oh right, I get to room next to Ms. Gryffindor bookworm. This will be a great year," he said, rolling his eyes. Inside he was very excited by the idea of spending almost all of his time with Hermione, but she wasn't going to find about that. Not yet at least.

"Can u be civil? We are going to be spending all of our time together!" she shouted. A few second years looked their way, but when they saw Draco they grouped together and shuffled off quickly. Draco glared after them.

"Whatever Granger and can you let go of me? I can follow someone on my own, thanks."

"Sorry," she mumbled.

They walked for several more minutes until they came to a large portrait of the Hogwarts Crest. There was a large Slytherin snake and a Gryffindor lion in the front, and they didn't seem to be getting along very well. The snake was hissing and spitting, and the lion was roaring at the snake. Well the two heads came to a stop in front of them, they stopped immediately. The lion looked at them and said, "Password Miss Granger?"

"Lion's Lair," she said calmly, and the portrait swung open to reveal a very large common room. There were scarlet and gold banners and hangings on one side, and green and silver hangings on the other. There were comfy armchairs by the fire, and two desks for them to work at. At the back of the room, there was a large, tall shelf filled to the top of the books, at which Hermione gasped and ran over to.

Draco looked around and noticed that there was also a table by the fire, probably to do work during the winter. Two doors stood ajar at either ends of the circular room. One read "Mr. Draco Malfoy, Slytherin House, Head Boy", and the other read, "Ms. Hermione Granger, Gryffindor House, Head Girl." Draco wandered over to his door and walked through it. It opened up to a stone staircase that curved to the left.

Up the staircase and through the door that lay at the top, and he found himself in a brilliant green and silver room. There were quidditch posters covering the walls, books concerning quidditch and Potions in the small bookcase, and a broomstick straps on the wall that would allow him to cradle his broom in his room. His trunk and owl cage had been brought up already, but Clipper was absent from the cage.

Draco walked further over to the left side of his room and noticed another door. This door was closed, and Draco, naturally curious, strutted over to it. He figured it to be locked, but then realized that it must be the door to the bathroom. He opened it only to see a marble covered bathroom complete with a shower, sink, toilet, and a bathtub the size of Draco's swimming pool back the manor. Overall, he was impressed. Draco wandered over to the cabinets and opened them. Inside one was all of Hermione's things, and inside the other were his. All of his gel, shampoo and soaps were in there. Contented, he turned to leave for a nice sleep in his wonderful four poster bed. He was stopped, though, by the sound of another door opening. Hermione's door to the bathroom had swung open and Hermione was standing there, like Draco had done moments previous, gaping at her surroundings.

As Hermione took it all in, Draco wandered over to the bathtub. "Fancy a swim Granger?" he drawled.

"Ew, no!" she screeched.

"With you're clothes on, you bloody idiot," he said. He turned the water on, adjusting the temperature to around 80 degrees. The bath filled in about 15 seconds, and Draco stripped down to his boxers and dived in. When he came back to the surface, Hermione had disappeared.

Draco turned on the bubbles and took a little bath, washing his hair especially. He took a towel and took out his now soaked boxers. He used a drying charm on himself and his hair, and walked back into his room with the towel around his waist. He changed into a new pair of boxers and a t-shirt, and jumped into bed after blowing out the candles. His last comforting thought was wandering the corridors late at night tomorrow with Hermione.

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**A review? For me? Thanks!**

_Subtle love-_Thanks so much for reviewing, it brightened my already awesome day! You don't know how much that made me happy! I hope you liked chapter 2, keep reviewing!

Hey I know there are people reading my story because of the hit counters, so if you are, please review also. Thanks!


	3. What You Said is True

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!_

**A/n-Ok, I love these hit counters! Because I know people are reading my stories, but they just aren't reviewing! Why? Please read and then write even a short review…So that way I'll update faster! Oh yeah and I'm officially on summer vacation like 4 days ago, so I can write more now, so updates CAN and WILL become faster with MORE reviews!**

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What You Said is True

Draco had woken up early so he could look over his monitoring hours with Hermione, and was in the Great Hall eating breakfast by 7 o'clock. He sat quietly at the Slytherin table eating his sausages and not taking to anyone. No one bothered him or questioned his activities. Professor Snape handed out all the schedules, and Draco noticed he had Arithmancy first. With a sigh, he got up and began walking over to the Great Hall doors. But a disturbance by the Gryffindor table caught his eye, and as Head Boy, he went to investigate.

Potter had apparently chucked the bread basket at Weasley, and Hermione was trying to stop them from cursing each other's heads off. Draco stepped in to take charge, as he knew very well that Hermione would not punish them, and they deserved to be punished.

"What's going on here?" he said loudly, presenting his authority.

"Go away ferret boy," Ron snarled.

Draco ignored him and said, "Let's see, fighting, disturbing the peace, magic outside of class…tut tut, that is not allowed. 20 points from Gryffindor," he said holding up his hand to the complaints that were bound to happen, "and don't make me take more. Potter you have detention for throwing something at Weasley. Tomorrow night in my quarters at 8'o clock, and if you are one minute late I will give a weeks worth of detentions. Let's go Granger; we have to make sure the first years get safely to their classes." Malfoy stood and smirked and then walked off, Hermione running to catch up.

He really could care less about the first years, but he didn't want to miss an opportunity to walk with Hermione. Her expression was quite hard to read, and if she was concerned about her friends at all, she didn't show it.

"Nice job back there, Mr. Head Boy," she said, sneering slightly.

Draco lowered his eyes into a menacing glance and said, "Well somebody has got to control troublemakers. They may be in your house, and be your best friends, but that is no reason to let them off!" he scolded.

"Well I was more concerned in trying to get them to stop trying to kill each other, I wasn't paying attention to; what was it you said? Oh yeah, "disturbing the peace," she said dramatically. She giggled a little and then blushed when Draco gave her a look that easily told her to shut up.

They walked silently through the hallways for several minutes before reaching the Arithmancy classroom. They were about 15 minutes early, and Hermione pulled out her book and began reading, leaning against the stone wall.

"Granger, is that all you do? Whenever I see you, you're reading a book."

"I like to read, do you have a problem with that?"

"Of course not, I read myself. But not all the time. You didn't even want to come swimming last night," he said coolly.

"I'm not going swimming in a bathtub with you. I don't trust you," she said defensively.

"I'm not going to make a move on you," he shot back. Not yet, he told himself.

At that time, Professor Vector came and ushered Draco and Hermione inside, telling them that they may be seated. As usual, Draco sat in the back of the room, in the farthest seat from the door, and began pulling out needed class materials. He noticed Hermione sat in the front and already had rapt attention to the teacher, who was shuffling papers on his desk. And what do you know, her hand was already in the air; class hadn't started, and she already had a question.

"Yes, Ms. Granger?"

"Where is the rest of the class sir?" she asked politely.

"You two are the only ones with high enough exam scores to be in this class any longer. The others have decided to drop this class. So, I presume we will begin. Let's see, chapter 17, page 457, if you will. Thank you!" he said, and class began.

Draco took the notes off the board very quickly and began to let his mind wander freely. All he could think about was Hermione lately, and frankly it was scaring him. He didn't know why he was being mean to her; he really liked her. Yet, he didn't know how he could like a muggleborn know-it-all. The thoughts still surprised him.

The sound of a chair screeching caught his attention. He looked up to see Hermione walk out the door, and quickly began gathering his materials and stuffing them in his bed. He walked swiftly to the door and knocked into someone at the door. He saw that it was none other than Hermione, waiting for him.

"Watch where you're going Malfoy!" she gasped, regaining her balance.

"Sorry, don't flip out. I have Charms next, I guess I'll see you later, if you're lucky," he said and strolled off. He heard hurried footsteps behind and a panting Hermione caught up with him.

"We have all the same classes, you git," she said coolly. He laughed and quickened his pace, and having longer legs than her, got ahead of her. She came running after him, and smacked him playfully on the arm.

"Do you seriously want to be seen with me? Potty and the Weasel may have another spaz attack!" he joked. Hermione, however, did not think this was funny at all. She hit him harder, on the head this time.

"Oh stop it! That wasn't funny!" she squealed.

"No, not really, but you're cute when you're mad, did you know that?" he said slyly. Hermione simply chose to ignore this statement and walked into the Charms classroom, seating herself as far away from Draco as possible. Draco thought this was funny, and knew his plan was working. She was now embarrassed when he complimented her, which was a sure sign that she had noticed him.

Professor Flitwick took the roll call and began class. It was very boring work; Draco found that it was easier to talk to someone than actually try the charms they were learning. He already knew this one, and decided to instead try to engage Blaise in conversation. Unfortunately, he was caught. He was sent over to Hermione's table, and Harry was moved to his spot. Not so bad after all, he thought.

He was twirling his wand between his fingers when he heard a frustrated sigh coming from Hermione. He looked over to her, and her head was in her hands.

"What's wrong with you, mud-muggleborn know-it-all?" he sneered. He had almost called her a mudblood, which would have been bad. He couldn't ruin this great opportunity.

"I can't get this spell!" she said exasperated. She tried again, and failed miserably. Draco huffed and grabbed her hand to help her. It was a tense moment, and finally realizing what he did, he recovered.

"You move you're hand like this," he said, showing her the correct way, "not like that! You looked like you were trying to poke someone's eye out Granger," he said laughing.

"Yeah, I was aiming for _your_ eye actually," she joked, and doubled up in silent giggles. Draco just scowled and said, "Well next time you need help, I'll try, but I don't know what I'll be able to do with one eye." Hermione burst into giggles again.

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"Will you keep it down? It sounds like you're entertaining a dozen people down there!" Draco yelled from the top of his staircase. Hermione had been making a lot of noise, and he wondered why.

"I _am _entertaining a dozen people Malfoy!" she screamed back, and he heard giggles. He walked down the stone steps and saw a group of giggling girls in a circle.

"I didn't say you could have a party Granger. I said you could have the common room to yourself, because I had more pressing things to attend to," he snarled.

"And I don't remember when you were the boss around here, Malfoy. You can join us if you like." The girls around her broke into giggles. He scowled at them.

"No thank you, I was going for a swim. Anyone like to come swimming?" he asked. He knew no one would come, they were all Gryffindors, and he seriously doubted any of them liked him.

He did not wait for a reply, rather just turned around and stalked back upstairs. He changed into his swimming trunks, and filled the large bathtub.

Draco swan dived into the pool and began swimming laps. He had been swimming all summer at the Manor to keep in shape for quidditch, and since there was no practice until next week, he decided to keep swimming to prepare. After a while, he heard footsteps in Hermione's room. All at once, the group of girls burst into the bathroom and there was a large intake of breath as they all looked around them. One girl said, "Wow!"

"I didn't actually want you to join me," he complained loudly. The group of girls paid no attention, and dove right into the pool. Hermione was last in, and made a big splash when she jumped in.

Draco just floated around while the girls splashed and chatted with each. Draco noticed Hermione was treading water in the middle of the pool, her eyes darting around. He swam over and poked her on the small of the back. She flailed around and finally saw Draco.

"What?" she said, sounding very annoyed.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

"My necklace, it fell off. I always wear it, Harry gave it to me, and it's very special to me."

"I didn't know you and Harry were an "item"," he said. His heart dropped; she was already taken, by none other than Saint Potter.

"We're not, I just really like the necklace, that's all," she said, noticing his tone. His spirits soared as he regained the feeling of his heart thumping in his chest.

"I'll find it for you," he said, eagerly ready for a challenge. Just like catching the snitch, no problem. He dove underwater and looked for a gleam of gold or silver. He swam all over the pool over water, and darted under once and while to check. After about 5 minutes, he spotted a glint of gold 20 feet to his left, in a corner of the large tub. He dove under water and grabbed it in his hand.

Draco swam to the surface and waded over to where Hermione was standing in the shallow part of the "pool". He put the necklace into her hand and screeched with delight.

"Oh my god, Draco, thank you so much. I really needed this, I really love this necklace-"she began saying. She kept stringing sentences together, muttering her thanks over and over again.

"Granger, shut up, or I'll make you shut up," he demanded.

"How can I ever thank you, great thing you did-"but her words were cut short as Draco pressed his lips against hers. He pulled back to admire the effect. Hermione was panting and her eyes were wide open. The girls around them were all staring at Draco and Hermione.

"I told you if you didn't stop I would make you. You should take me more seriously sometimes," he said. He didn't understand what the big deal was, he didn't _really_ kiss her. He only did it to make her shut up, right? Right?

"You kissed me!" she gasped finally, spluttering water out of her mouth.

"Good observation mudblood," he said. Then he stopped, realizing his mistake. Damn it, I have got to watch that, he reminded himself.

"How-how dare you!" she screeched. The girls took this as their cue to leave and they tip-toed back into Hermione's room. One of them shut the bathroom door.

"I'm sorry, that slipped! I didn't mean it, oh don't cry!" he tried to explain. But Hermione was already crying and making her way out of the pool.

"Hermione, really, I'm sorry!" he yelled. She stopped crying and looked at him.

"Why are you calling me Hermione?"

"That's your name," he said simply. He had blown his cover now; she would have to be really thick to not know now.

"If I didn't know better, I would think you liked me." Draco gulped. "But that's impossible. I'm going to get ready, we are monitoring the halls in 30 minutes, and you can have the shower now." She stalked out of the room, leaving Draco alone and very confused.

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Draco was terribly bored and also felt terrible. Hermione wouldn't talk to him, and had ignored him since they left. They had been monitoring the halls for almost an hour and they had at least another hour to go. Draco sighed and watched the minutes tick by on his watch.

After another uneventful hour, they turned back towards their common room. Stepping inside felt so good; it was warm in here and he could escape the silence that hung over the two.

"Malfoy," Hermione said, almost in a whisper.

"What?" he snapped.

"Nothing I-forget it. Goodnight."

"Hermione! Wait…" he said. She turned around, and he waited for a response. When none came, he began to say things that were on his mind. "Listen, I-I just wanted you to know that everything you said this afternoon, when we were swimming, was true. You read me like a book, Hermione."

Hermione stood there, taking it all in. She didn't say anything, but rather turned around and went upstairs. Draco didn't know how long he stood there; all he knew was that she probably hated him even more. After a long time, he turned around and went upstairs. He didn't change, but rather just lay down in his bed. Eventually, sleep overtook him, and his troubles drifted slowly away.

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**Yay! Reviews! **

_Subtle love-_Again, you made me happy! I'm really happy you like my story, and I hope this chapter was up to scratch. Sorry about that "computer" language, sometimes I miss those details. I tried fixing them in this chapter. Hope you like.

**Ok I have gotten a lot of hits but not a lot of reviews. If you are reading, please please please review also! Thanks, Krista.**


	4. A Good Night

_Disclaimer-If I was J.K Rowling, why would I be writing fan fiction? I would be writing the real thing!_

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A Good Night

"Draco Malfoy get your arse down here!" came Hermione's very annoyed voice. It had been a week since the scene in the common room, and frankly Draco was very annoyed with her lack of recognition.

"I'm coming Granger, keep your shirt on!" he yelled back. Actually, he told himself, please don't take my advice. He ran down the stairs, shouldering his backpack, and into the common room. Hermione was there waiting for him.

"Finally, you take longer than me to get ready!" she complained.

"And yet, you still manage to look good," he said and smirked. Her face, unfortunately, did not show amusement.

"I'm going to ignore that." she simply said. She marched to the portrait and yanked it open as Draco yelled, "You can't ignore it forever, we have to talk about this!"

"Not now, we have classes now," she said and walked out. Draco sighed and rushed out after her, with a very grumpy look on his face.

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"Today, we will be working on a very complex potion, and you will be writing 4 feet of parchment on it for homework, due to me next Tuesday. Now, let's begin please. Find your partners, directions are on the board. Begin!" Professor Snape snapped to the class, and the shuffling began.

Hermione and Draco were paired up; they always were, being the smartest in the class. They worked on the potion for the full 2 hours they were given, and it looked exactly as it should at the end. When Snape said to, they handed in a sample of their potion and left.

Draco wandered down to dinner, because Potions had been their final subject that day; a day where, again, Hermione had managed to ignore him. He sat at the Slytherin table and ate quietly, and went back upstairs to start his Potions essay, which would surely take hours. Unfortunately, screams were being issued from down the Hufflepuff common room quarters, and Draco went down to see what was wrong.

A group of students, looking to be around third year, were up against a wall, and a large snake was slithering at their heels. The snake reared back as in to attack, but then caught Draco's eyes. It stared at him with his large, lamp-like yellow eyes that did not blink. Draco couldn't move for fear, but finally found the strength to bring out his wand. He snake moved closer to him, baring its fanged, venomous teeth.

He remembered a person being attacked by a snake like this one in his fifth year, but who? Oh yeah, Weasley Senior! They cured him, didn't they? What a minute, wasn't that Voldemort's snake? Yes it was; he remembered his father telling him that Voldemort owned a large snake, named Nagini. He needed Potter; he could talk to snakes, couldn't he? Would the snake listen? Probably not to Harry, why would it?

The snake slithered closer to Draco, and it looked like it was going to strike. Draco raised his wand and, finally finding his voice, yelled, "Stupefy!" as the snake launched itself at Draco. In midair the snake got hit with the spell, and its body got thrown back into the stone wall. The group of third years screeched and ran for it. Draco stepped back, and turned heel and ran.

He ran all the way back to the Great Hall and burst through the doors. "Snake! Snake down the Hufflepuff corridor!" he gasped, and sank into a bench at the Slytherin table. He was breathing hard, and his heart was beating very fast. A few teachers got up and ran towards where the snake was, but Dumbledore stayed to talk to Draco.

"What happened Mr. Malfoy?" he asked kindly but urgently. Draco took a deep breath and relived his story for Dumbledore. When he was done, Dumbledore called over a few of the Hufflepuff students and asked them what happened. At that time, the teachers returned with bad news.

"The snake, Nagini, has escaped, Headmaster. We followed the trail of blood. He slipped in through a crack in the wall. Nagini is a special snake, you see, that can squeeze itself into different forms. Draco, you are lucky to be alive," Professor Snape said in a curt voice quite unlike his own.

The teachers held a council, and Snape walked away suddenly, clutching his left forearm. His lip was curled as always, but seemed to be in a particularly bad mood. Draco knew very well what was wrong with Snape, but he followed him anyways.

"What's wrong Professor Snape?" he asked, smirking.

"You know what is wrong with me, Draco. Go away; I have to go to this call. No doubt concerning that snake," he said with an annoyed tone to match Hermione's.

"Fine," he said in a bored tone, and watched his Professor's retreating back. He wandered back up to his common room, where he found Hermione laying on the couch.

When he arrived, she jumped up, ran over to him, and gave him a hug. Draco was very taken-aback, and tripped over his feet and fell. Hermione helped him up.

"Control yourself Granger, I know I'm stunningly handsome but learn to deal with it," he said jokingly. This time she laughed and said, "I was just concerned that you were alright."

"Yeah, Yeah. Can we talk now?" he pleaded as he sat on the couch and took out ink and parchment.

Hermione sighed, sat down and said, "Yea, alright, we can talk now. What is wrong with you!" she positively screamed.

"There's nothing wrong with me!" he snapped. Why did she think something was wrong with him?

"Obviously there is, because there is no other explanation as to why you like me. Someone is forcing you to do this, and its bothering me."

"Do I look like the kind of person that can be forced to do anything?" he asked.

She took a long time to consider the question, and finally said, "I'm not being your flavor of the week Malfoy."

"You're not the 'flavor of the week' Hermione. You're the only thing I could think about all summer. And when you finally realize that people other than Ron and Harry care about you, come and find me."

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"Watch it Crabbe! That almost hit my head you dolt! You're supposed to protect us from the bludgers, not hit them at us!" Draco screamed. Today was quidditch practice, and so far Draco was not having a good time. Yeah, his team was very good, but the bludgers seemed to be targeting only him. That might be because he wasn't practicing, rather just sitting there yelling out orders.

He blew his whistle and the team came to a huddle around him. "Alright guys, we've got the best chasers in Hogwarts this year. We've got two idiots for beaters, but that's ok. Our keeper is unstoppable. And there's me, who can beat Potter with this nice new broom I have. So, let's keep working for another hour, and then hit the showers. Resume!" he said, and they flew back to their positions.

Draco flew back down to the crate holding the balls on the edge of the field and grabbed the snitch. He was about to turn around when he noticed someone sitting in the stands. It was Hermione.

Draco let the snitch go and flew up high into the air. Instead of going to look for the snitch he lay flat on his broom and went as fast as he could. He swooped right over Hermione's head, making her almost topple backwards out of her seat. He laughed, stopped, and turned around. He slowed down and jumped off his broom to see what she was doing here.

"Granger."

"Malfoy."

"What are you doing here? Spying for Potter?" he asked suspiciously. He knew she wasn't, he had asked her to come, but he liked to annoy her anyways.

"No, I came to watch an extremely good-looking Slytherin Seeker play quidditch. Unfortunately, he hasn't been doing too much playing; he's been ordering around the other players."

"Well that's my job. Fine, you can watch me now, and tell Potter how good I am. Ha!" he yelled and mounted his broom. He zoomed off down the field searching for the snitch. It wasn't very long until he spotted the gold ball fluttering near a goalpost, and he dove down and caught it in his outstretched hand.

Hermione sat in the stands and clapped. He let it go, and caught it once more. By the time quidditch practice ended, in which they all got very muddy and wet because it had started to rain, Draco had caught the snitch 4 times, and Hermione's hands were red from clapping. Draco took a quick shower, changed, and shouldered his broom. Hermione was waiting for him in the lobby of the changing rooms.

"That was impressive work today, Mr. Quidditch Captain," she said, trying to hide the giggles.

"Want a ride?" he asked. Her face quickly turned to fear as he grabbed her around the waist and pushed her onto the broom. He hopped on in back on her.

"Draco, no!" she yelled. Draco stopped. He stared at her wide-eyed.

"You called me Draco…" he said. He was very confused. She had shown signs of liking him, but she had never called him by his first name. Hermione turned very red. She got off the broom and sprinted back up to the castle, like Draco had done 6 years ago after he had seen baby Norbert. He hung his head; this was much harder than he thought.

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Draco Malfoy was pacing around his room with his head in his hands. The sound of water was being issued from the bathroom because Hermione was taking a shower. He was very confused and very stressed out. He had to walk the halls with Hermione tonight for 2 hours, and he was already exhausted from quidditch. She probably wouldn't talk to him anymore; she was very embarrassed about the events at the pitch, and she had always been sensitive.

The water came to a stop, and the sound of the other door clicked. She was getting ready now, and they would be leaving shortly. Draco grabbed his wand off the table and stuffed it into his robes' pocket. He gave his hair one final look in the mirror and set off for the common room.

After about 10 minutes more of pacing, Hermione emerged from the door that led to her room. Draco stopped pacing abruptly.

"Hi Hermione!" he said energetically. She nodded to tell him that she saw him. "Oh, it's nice to see you too grumpy," he spat.

"Shut up, Draco."

"There you go again, calling me by my first name."

"You call me Hermione, I'm calling you Draco. Happy?" she said while smirking.

"Very," he said. Her smirk turned into a smile.

She walked to the door and out of the portrait, Draco hot on her heels. They walked slowly down the hallways, treading the familiar path. Draco casually slipped his hand down next to Hermione's and held it. He waited a second, and then entwined his fingers in hers. Hermione looked up at him and smiled, and for the first time in his life, he felt like there was something right about him.

"You know, I've never met a girl like you," he said. He smirked (as was the normal custom), and she smiles back. By the end of the night, he was almost fully convinced she liked him as much as he liked her.

"Hermione you're so wonderful and everything you know," he said as they stepped inside the common room, which was barely illuminated. He leaned a little closer to her and said, "But I don't know anymore, this is all so different to me…" but Hermione cut him off.

"Just shut up and kiss me Draco," she murmured. Was he imagining this? He leaned further in and placed a delicate kiss on her lips. He pulled back, as he was very unsure of her reaction.

"Goodnight Draco," she whispered.

"Goodnight." This was very sincere; this had been a good night.

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**A/n- Alright, two orders of business. Firstly, and most importantly, Reviewers need to be recognized! **

_theBomb- Wow, thanks for you're review! I feel honored that my story is the reason you registered for fan fiction! I don't plan on stopping, just read the note after review recognitions. _

_Yuna and lenne-Thanks for you're advice, but I actually like tp proofread my stories on my own. Sorta missed those few details, sorry about that. I hope you liked this chapter!_

_Auden-Annalia- I realize Draco seems a bit desperate, but think of his life. His life is going to be normal either, but I don't want to give anything away! Please keep reading and reviewing, it's great that you like my story, I appreciate it! _

_Hermy1092- You remind me of myself, I'm also impatient. Please read following author's note, it contains information on next updates! Glad you liked my stories, please review all the time! I love them! Thanks!_

**Ok, second thing. The thing is, I am leaving for a weeklong vacation to the beach with my family on Friday. I will be home on the following Saturday morning. I plan on getting one more chapter(chapter 5) up before I leave. When I return, I will be sure to update by Sunday night. And I promise to make up for a week lost by updating faster. The more reviews I get, the happier I am and the more desire I have to write. Thanks to all that review, I appreciate compliments and criticism.**


	5. Love, Hate and Mistakes

_Disclaimer- As far as I know, I'm not J.K. Rowling, and never will be (unless I make a polyjuice potion). _**That joke was kind of lame, I know. **

**A/n- Surprise! Two days early, I know, but I finished quicker than I thought. I'm still trying to get an update for Friday though, so I need reviews! You must know by now that reviews make me update faster…**

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Love, Hate, and Mistakes

"Hermione!" Harry yelled through the crowd. Draco dropped Hermione's hand immediately and stepped away from her. Harry and Ron came running to her side, pushing Draco out of the way.

"Where you been, 'Mione? We've been looking for you everywhere!" Ron said.

"I was…in the common room…doing Snape's essay," she said nervously. Draco looked at her in disbelief. Hermione Granger was telling a downright lie to her friends? The truth was that Draco and Hermione had been taking a walk around the lake, talking like old friends.

Which is still how she considered him; a friend. Even after that night patrolling the hallways hand-in-hand, and after the kiss in the common room. Even after the walk around the lake, she still considered them no more than friends. Maybe it was Draco's fault; he had not yet even asked her to be his girlfriend. But he often had the impression that she didn't want to date him.

But then, of course, there was Potter and the Weasel. By no means would they permit him to date her, there was no way. And it wasn't like Hermione to do something secret or even lie to anyone. But she had lied to them today, was there actually hope? Draco wondered about this as he walked behind the trio to Potions.

"Draco! Draco Malfoy!" came Hermione's voice from very far away.

"Huh? What?" he said, snapping out of the trance-like state he was in.

"Time for class you dolt," Ron said before leaning over to whisper in Hermione's ear, believing no one could hear him. But Draco could clearly hear that he said, "Since when do you call him by his first name?" Hermione blushed and shrugged her shoulders and whispered something he couldn't here. Ron shrugged and walked into class, followed closely by Potter, Hermione, and Draco, bring up the rear.

Potions was, by far, Draco's favorite and easiest class, but most of the other students did not think so. Today, Snape had them working on yet another difficult potion, to be handed in at the end of class. Draco and Hermione paired up as usual and began working, talking in low voices. Hermione was quick to tell Draco what her friends had been talking about. The potion was very difficult and quickly demanded the remainder of their attention, and Hermione promised they would talk in the common room that night.

At the end of Potions, Draco shuffled out of the dungeons and up to lunch. He ate very slowly owing to the fact that he was keen to overhear Blaise Zabini's conversation with Crabbe and Goyle. He pretended to be reading his Transfiguration book while he eagerly listened in.

"My father says that I'm getting my oath taken right after Hogwarts. You guys too?" he whispered excitedly. Crabbed and Goyle responded by giving him grunts.

"Yeah, we aren't the only ones; there are tons of Slytherins doing it. But guess what I heard?" he continued more enthusiastically. Crabbe and Goyle looked at him expectantly. "Malfoy over here gets here during Christmas break. Isn't that right Draco?"

Draco looked up and smirked. "Yeah, that's right," he said confidently. "Hey guys, I'm full. I'll um…I'll see you dinner." Draco strode over to the Great Hall doors and walked out. He sighed and put hands in his pockets as he walked up to the Transfiguration classroom. He heard hurried footsteps behind him.

"Hey!" Hermione said as she popped up beside him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'll…I'll tell you later," he said, shrugging it off. He never had anyone to talk to about these things, Hermione was the only one. Would she understand, or would she hate him because of who he was and what he had to do? He pushed those thoughts out of his head as he stepped into the class.

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Draco sat on his armchair by the fire, scrunched up over a piece of parchment. He was busy writing an essay for Charms, though he would much rather be doing something else, like talking to Hermione. But Hermione had never returned from dinner, and Draco was forced to work so he would finish by tomorrow's class.

Draco was disrupted by the faint _tap tap_ of an owl beak on glass. He got up, crossed the room, and opened the window. A large eagle owl soared through the window and landed on the couch. Draco walked over, untied the scroll attached to its leg, and began reading. The owl soared out the open window and into the night. The letter, on the other hand, was from his father, and did not contain school greetings.

_Draco-_

_I am in hiding. Your mother is home, I had to flee. Do not send return owl. I will contact you as soon as I know more about the ceremony. It looks as though we may have to postpone our meeting. The Dark Lord has plans and unfortunately can't see you during the Christmas break. Be prepared by the Easter holidays. _

_Do not disappoint me, _

_L. Malfoy. _

He put the letter down and sighed. At least he had longer to wait until he became a servant. Yeah, great. The sound of the portrait opening brought him back to his senses.

"Hey, what have you got there Draco?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing. It's nothing," he said as he hastily tried to shove the letter into his pocket. Hermione was quicker; she summoned the letter to her and read it over.

"What ceremony is he talking about? Draco…no…" she muttered as tears formed into her eyes.

"Hermione, no, you don't understand! Just listen to me please!" he begged. She began to sob as she screamed, "I trusted you!"

"Hermione," he said calmly, "Will you at least hear me out? Please? I know I don't deserve it but please, just listen."

"Why should I?" she snarled. She walked over to the couch anyways and placed the letter on the table.

"You want to hear what I have to say, Hermione."

"Try me."

"I'm not a Death Eater Hermione," he said. She looked away from him.

"Yeah, I know. Not yet, anyways. What were you going to do, Draco? Toy with my feelings and throw me away? And I was starting to like you too," she spat angrily.

"I'm never going to be a Death Eater. I mean, I have to become one, but I don't want to," he said softly.

She snorted with laughter and said," What do you mean, you have to become one but don't want to?"

"My father is forcing me too, and I swear I wish I could have it some other way, but I can't. And I really like you Hermione, why can't you see that? I would never do anything to hurt you, and this is the thing that would hurt you the most."

"Then what are we doing Draco? You know you can't date me. Our friends, your family, your house mates…no it's impossible."

"I don't care about my friends, and we'll figure out yours. I could care less about my housemates, if they ever did something to hurt you they would be in detention for the rest of the year. My family…alright we have problems but they won't find out. Give it a chance Hermione."

"We have a better chance trying to convince Peeves to date Professor McGonagall than convincing my friends to accept us dating. This isn't going to work."

"I haven't really asked you out yet Hermione. So we aren't dating."

"I'm not being your slut either."

"Parkinson can handle that."

"I don't want her hands on you!"

"Jealous are we?"

"No!"

"Whatever…Anyways, I think we should try it out. The dating thing. Secretly, obviously."

"Secretly? But I tell my friends everything!"

"Well, always a time to stop old habits. What do you say?"

"Alright, but after awhile we tell them. Deal?"

"Yeah alright. Now come over here, so we can talk."

"Draco, there's no space; you and your books are in the way."

"Sit on my lap. You could do taking a leaf out of Parkinson's book, you know that?" She slapped him playfully on the arm, but sat on his lap anyways.

"Listen, why were you so angry earlier?" she asked him. She squirmed and bounced in his lap like a little child.

"Ouch, watch it! Oh, it's not important. Blaise and Crabbe and Goyle were talking…forget it."

"What were they talking about?" she persisted.

"Listen, Hermione, don't butt into my life. You just can't ok? It's complicated. If something is wrong, I will tell you about it, ok?"

"Alright, alright, I just thought you could tell your girlfriend anything."

"No, not everything. But girlfriends do get to know this," he said as he pushed his lips into hers. She deepened the kiss, which was very unlike Hermione. He had no idea how far to go with her. Should he French kiss her or not? In the end he decided he would try; he licked her bottom lip until she opened her mouth. He stuck his tongue inside her mouth and let their tongues grind together. After a few minutes, she pulled away.

"Wow…" she said while taking a gulp of fresh air. Her hair was a little more frizzy than usual, as Draco had been running his hands through it. She didn't seem to care.

"Not bad Granger," he said while smirking. Yeah, not bad at all, he thought to himself.

"Do you rate girls on how good they kiss?"

"No, I rate them on how good they are in bed." He was joking of course, but she missed the sarcasm.

"Ok, then I guess you have to wait to rate," she said seriously. Draco frowned.

"I was joking. I wasn't planning on-"but his words were cut short by Hermione's lips on his. Taken aback, he opened his mouth to say something as she pulled away, but instead she took this time to put her tongue in his mouth. Damn it, this one is good, he thought desperately to himself. He finally pulled away from her, out of breath.

"Why'd you stop?" she complained. "I was actually having fun!"

"You naughty girl," he scolded.

"I'm serious, why did you stop?"

"Because I don't want it to turn into something else. Unless you want to quicken the pace?" he said hopefully.

"No, I'm good where we are," she said as she desperately tried to flatten down her hair.

"You're fighting a losing battle Hermione."

"Ha-Ha…" she said sarcastically.

"So how are we supposed to act around our friends?" Draco asked. "I mean to say, your friends. My friends wouldn't notice anything anyways. But what about yours?"

"The same as always. I mean, Ron is starting to notice something, but I can get him assured. You might want to call me a mudblood sometimes too."

"No…I can't do that…its wrong," he whimpered. She gave him a look.

"You have to Draco. Just, try it now. Like you normally do. Please, for me?" she said and gave him the puppy dog face.

"Alright, mudblood," he drawled lazily.

"That was good, but you better not mean it."

"Of course not," he said, and he kissed her forehead.

She lay down next to him on the couch, his arm snaked around her waist holding her tight. He began to nod off when Hermione whispered, "Draco, why do you like me so much?"

"What's not to like?" he said. He knew that she was insecure and probably was questioning everything.

"You've always seemed to find something wrong about me. My parentage, my looks, my good grades…" she trailed off as she ticked them off on her fingers. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"I was an idiot when I was younger, just forget about it Hermione," he said soothingly. She sat straight up. There were tears in her eyes.

"I can't forget about it," she said as she stood up. She ran to her door, sobbing, and slammed it shut. He heard her lock the door and storm upstairs, still bawling her eyes out. No, this was not going to be easy, he thought. "Why is this so hard!" he screamed as he chucked his Potions book across the room.

"Nobody said love was easy, Mr. Malfoy," said a calming voice. Draco whipped his head around to see…

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**Muahahaha! I'm evil, I know. Update on Friday, expect it. Also, there are a lot of House sorters out there, so to speak. Take one of them (I don't recommend the Warner Brothers site one, because it has nothing to do with your personality), and tell me what house you are in. I'll be asking question and things, and I will reward House Points for correct answers. Also, you may be in for a treat if you review…If you're wondering, I'm a Slytherin and I accept no other house. (Yeah, for all you girls, I'm obsessed with Tom Felton.) That's just an extra; you don't have to do it! **

**Reviews! For me? Yay!**

_Chesterstacos-I'm glad you like my story, I'll update as fast as I can. See it on Friday, it should be updates(should be, but then you have to wait a week because I'm going on vacation. I'll make it up to you though!_

_Greenday409-Thanks for your review! Things don't always say sweet forever… _


	6. Ginny Knows

_Disclaimer- I'm not J. K Rowling(sadly), so I don't Harry Potter. But I came up with this plot! _

**A/n-Friday's update as promised. I want reviews in my inbox when I get home next Friday evening! If I get 10 reviews for this chapter, I'll make sure I update on Sunday morning. If not, you have to wait until Monday night. I'm mean, I know.**

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Ginny Knows

"Professor Dumbledore!" Draco gasped, running over to pick up his Potions book and placing it on the glass table. "I didn't h-hear you come in. W-what's wrong?"

"I was going to ask you the same question, Mr. Malfoy," he said calmly. He settled himself on the couch and put his unnaturally long fingers together. He did not seem angry at all; he actually seemed quite amused with the situation, like it was an interesting television show.

"Nothing is wrong, I just got a little angry…" he said. Why did he really care? It was none of his business.

"That is obvious. Now, I have a proposition…" but whatever the proposition was, he didn't find out right away. Dumbledore stopped as Hermione edged her way into the room. Her eyes were a little puffy, and her hair was a mess. Her eyes told it all; she wasn't angry with him. She smiled at him and he smiled back. Or rather, he smirked, as he always did.

"Ahh, Miss Granger! How nice of you to join us. I was just about to Draco here about the Halloween ball you two will be planning. Any ideas of yours will be put forth by the prefects. Please run your plans by me first, please."

"A Halloween ball Professor! I have many ideas…" and she was off, babbling about her plans for the ball, many of them plans Draco thought were insane. Dumbledore bid them goodnight and bowed himself out. Hermione didn't seem to notice.

"I think we should have the normal pumpkins floating in the air, what do you think? I'm not sure-" she babbled on, but was cut off by Draco's lips. He moved her back and pushed her on the couch, and lied down on top of her.

"I…don't…care," he murmured against her lips. He rolled off of her and stood up.

"You seem to always do that when I'm talking," she said, clearly annoyed.

"No, only when you're babbling into tomorrow."

"I wasn't babbling-whatever. What was that boom earlier? I heard something, did you drop something?" she asked.

"No, I chucked my Potions book across the room. I'm going to bed, I'm tired. Goodnight 'Mione!" he said lazily as he began to ascend the stairs, chuckling lightly to himself. As he reached the top and was about to turn the knob to his door, he heard Hermione yell up to him, "Don't call me 'Mione!"

He ran down the stairs and poked his head out the door. She was raging on the other side of the room, about to go upstairs. "Alright, how about muffin?" he said and cackled. He ran back up the stairs and magically sealed the door. He changed into his pajamas and dived into his bed, ready for a long rest.

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The next day started out to be one of the best of Draco's Hogwarts days. He didn't care when Potter told him off for walking to class with Hermione, nor did he care when they were assigned their largest amount of Transfiguration homework ever(write four feet of parchment on the uses of conjuring charms, and how they are important in the wizarding world). But his mood wasn't going to last. It never did.

Draco was walking to the library alone to do a bit of research for McGonagall's essay, which would surely take all night, when he came across the scene that ruined his day. Hermione and Ron were walking down the Charms corridor hand-in-hand. What was worse that when they got to the end, Ron kissed her, pushing her against the wall. Either Hermione had a guilty conscious or she didn't want to be seen, because she pushed him off and said something to him. His smile faded.

Draco pushed past Weasley as he leaned in to kiss Hermione again. He was very angry and also very jealous. How dare her; it wasn't like Hermione to toy with people's emotions or even cheat on someone. He angrily shoved people out of his way as he made his way to the library.

He shoved open to the doors to the library and many angry faces looked up at him. Madam Pince said," Shhhh!" and he made his way all the way to the back of the library. He threw his bag against the wall and sat down, his head in his hands.

Maybe Hermione had lied the whole time, and at dinner each night they had a great laugh about it. Was she really like that? His thoughts, unfortunately, were disrupted as a disgruntled Hermione ran up to his table. He lifted his head to see her face right in front of him.

"Arghh!" he screamed as he toppled over backwards from his chair. Hermione held out a hand to help him up; he did not take it.

"Sneaking off with weasel, have we?" he drawled. He was not happy.

"It's not what you think Draco," she whined. "I didn't, I…" but he voice failed her.

"I saw you with my own eyes Hermione. How could you lie to me?" he asked.

"Listen, he asked me out and I said yes. This way, people won't be onto us. With me dating Ron, no one will suspect us," she explained. Her theory seemed correct.

"You let him kiss you though…" he said.

"Yeah well, that's what couples do right? I mean we do…" she trailed off.

"I don't want his hands or lips on you," he growled.

"I promise I won't do anything more than what we do," she pleaded with him.

"That's comforting."

"Yes it is, because we haven't done much. This is the easiest way to throw off suspicions," she said. Draco agreed that was true and forgave her. They headed to the common room, hand-in-hand. It was dinner time, and no students were out in the hallways anymore. Draco and Hermione decided to skip dinner and nick food from the kitchens later.

When they got into the common room, Draco immediately set to work on his Transfiguration essay. Hermione got changed into her pajamas and then joined him. They worked very late into the night, and finally double checked each other's work at quarter to eleven.

"Yours is good Draco, except it's a bit messy, but McGonagall won't care. How's mine?" Hermione said after reading over Draco's final copy of his essay.

"Perfect as usual…I doubt McGonagall will find a flaw in it," he said while biting his lip. Hermione snatched it from him with an annoyed look on her face. She shoved the paper in her bag and Draco did the same. He settled himself by the fire and started reading _Quidditch Today_. Hermione pulled out woolen material. She began sow what looked like hats in midair using magic.

"What are you doing Hermione?" Draco asked curiously.

"Knitting house elf hats!" she said eagerly.

"Why?" he asked, now putting down the magazine to stare at her.

"To set them free," she said happily.

"Whatever," he grunted and went back to his magazine. The knitting sounds stopped. Hermione walked in front of him and sat on his lap.

"Better activity?" she said and kissed him.

"Definitely," he said, and wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. He picked her up and brought her to couch, laying her down. He lied down on top of her and kissed her gently but passionately. This time, Draco was first to stick his tongue in her mouth, letting it zoom around, exploring it rapidly. He lured her tongue to follow his into his mouth, and let their tongues glide on top of each others.

Draco took his hands from her waist and let them slide to her hair. She flipped over on top of him. Draco let his hands massage her stomach under shirt. He slowly let his hands go farther up, kissing her all the same. In one motion, Draco's hands were roaming high under her shirt, and Hermione was taken aback. She slid off him, panting. Draco cursed under his breath.

"I'm not ready for that Draco," she said cautiously. She thinks I'm going to blow my top, he thought to himself.

"Sorry, I…I shouldn't have. Ok, yeah, when you're ready. That's f-fine," he said. He was a little disappointed, but he can't take it too far. He'd have to stop somewhere…

"I'm going to bed, it's l-late…goodnight Draco," she said and walked over to her staircase, fixing her shirt. Draco sighed and rolled off the couch. He kicked the chair and walked upstairs. This really wasn't easy.

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"We can't do that Draco! The Heads are opening the dance anyways, we can't go together. People will notice," Hermione huffed.

"Fine! But you have to dance with me more than once!" Draco yelled back. The ball was in two weeks, and they had just finished the details. Draco was anxious because he didn't have anyone to go with, and Hermione had put her foot down.

"Of course I will; we start the ball, and end the ball. I promise a nice after party too, how about that?" she compromised.

Draco smiled and said, "That's sounds great!" Hermione laughed and slapped him on the arm.

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"Hey, Hermione! Can I talk to you for a minute?" Ginny called out to her at dinner as she and Draco were about to leave. "Both of you!"

"Yeah, sure. What's up?" Hermione asked as Draco sighed. Ginny shook her head and led them out of the Great Hall and outside. She dragged the pair down to the quidditch pitch and sat her down on the stands. Ginny took a deep breath.

"I know," she said simply. Draco looked at her. Hermione was too. What was she talking about, Draco asked himself.

"Know what weaselette?" he asked jerkily. Hermione hit him 'round the head. "Stop it," she muttered so Ginny couldn't hear her.

"I know about you two," she said. Hermione turned around to look at Draco. He shrugged his shoulders and she looked back at Ginny.

"What are you talking about Ginny?" Hermione asked her politely. Draco sniggered. Ginny was on to them now, she must know.

"That you're dating. Only, you can't be, because you're dating my brother!" she said and opened her mouth in mock surprise.

"Ahh, I was afraid you would figure it out."

"Why are you doing this to my brother?"

"I have to Ginny, you know I can't be with Draco. Ron and Harry, they'd kill us!" she hastily explained.

"What do you think they're going to do when they find out you've been cheating on Ron?"

"No! Ginny no! You can't tell Ron! They'll hate me forever!" she screamed, panicking.

"I'm not telling them," she said calmly. Draco and Hermione breathed sighs of relief. "You are."

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**A/n-Well, that's the end of the Chapter. Reviews, I want them! I want lots, because I'm greedy. Lots of reviews helps me write faster and you will want a good, long chapter when I return after my weeklong vacation. I apologize that I have to leave, but I need my vacation! It's the only vacation I'm taking all summer, so cut me some slack. While I'm gone, write long reviews. Ok, stop babbling Krista, on to review recognition for chapter 5!**

_theBomb-Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad I make you laugh, but sadly I can't do more than one chapter today. I'll tell you how I write my stories: When my mom gets home from work(5:30ish) I get on her work laptop and try to write. My sister tries to take the computer from me, which makes it impossible to write a chapter in one sitting. But I try! So sorry, but thanks for sticking with my story. I promise, with more reviews, the chapters will become longer. Review again, thanks!_

_Tgmoxie-Nice choice of words man…Last chapter for a week, and when I get back(next Friday night) I'll make a nice long chapter! That is, if I get lots of reviews. _


	7. Revenge and a Secret Meeting

_Disclaimer-I'm still not J.K. Rowling…So I don't own Harry Potter!_

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Revenge and a Secret Meeting

"Are you crazy?" Draco blurted out from instinct. "I am not telling them ANYTHING!"

"Yeah, you are, or I will," Ginny said calmly.

"Ginny, come on…this isn't fair. We can't…they'll kill us…Ron…"Hermione pleaded.

"I can't let you guys get away with this. Hermione, you're my best friend, I can't let this go on. What if Ron catches you two, it'll be worse! Tell them now and maybe they'll understand," Ginny said.

"THEY WILL NOT UNDERSTAND GINNY! THEY COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND!" Hermione screamed and marched off, fuming.

"I'll tell them," Draco said maturely and walked off to catch up with Hermione. How could he possible tell them? They would attack him and think him to be insane. Then again, they probably wouldn't believe him if he told them. Hermione would have to be there.

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"Hey Hermione!" Ron called across the Great Hall as Draco and Hermione were about to leave for class. Hermione stopped and Draco followed suit. Ron caught up, out of breath.

"Hey Ron," Hermione said uneasily. Ginny had promised to give them a week to tell them, and it had already been four days. Time was running out.

"I know we're dating and all, but I wanted to ask you this. Would you go to the Halloween Ball with me?" he said, shifting his feet. Hermione gulped.

"I can't," she croaked. Draco shot her a look. She shook her head. Ron was staring at her with disbelief.

"Why not?" he complained. Hermione looked even more uneasy at this statement. What was she doing? He thought desperately.

"I'm going with someone else," she said very quietly. Ron looked furious and his face turned very red.

"Who, exactly, is going with my girlfriend to the ball?" he replied, looking even more furious.

"Me," Draco said simply, finally catching on. Ron gave a hearty laugh and was calming down. He kissed Hermione on the cheek.

"Oh, that was a good one Hermione. Ah, you know how to get to a guy," he said while chuckling.

"We're serious," Hermione muttered. Ron looked at her in disbelief. Ginny and Harry wandered over.

"What's going on?" Harry asked tensely. Ginny gave Hermione a weak smile. Hermione led the group out of the Hall so they wouldn't make a scene.

"Fine! You know what, fine! You want to know what's going on Harry? Well here is the long story for you. Me and Draco are going to the Ball together. We've been dating for about two weeks, ok?" Hermione huffed all in one breath. Ron's eyes were bugging out and Harry's fists were clenched.

"You ch-cheated on me? With him?" Ron choked and pointed at Draco. Hermione had tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry Ron but I don't like you like that. I like Draco, ok! And if you guys can't understand that then I guess we can't be friends," Hermione sobbed and ran away. Draco made to run after her, but Ron's hand grabbed his robe, twisting him around.

Ron's fist collided with Draco jaw and Draco fell. His hand was in his pocket faster than Ron's and he drew his wand, yelling, "Expelliarmus!" Ron was knocked off his feet and flew 10 feet and landed hard on the ground. Draco accio-ed Ron's wand and pocketed it.

"Don't make me hurt you Weasley, because I will. Attacking me isn't going to bring her back, do you understand? I didn't do this to make you angry, or to get revenge, ok?" Draco said calmly and clearly. Harry stood up from Ron's side and walked over to Draco.

"Yes, but whose idea was it for Hermione to cheat on Ron? You guys must have been going out already when Ron asked her, so what's this business?" Harry said, sneering slightly. Surprisingly, Draco smiled.

"That was Hermione's idea. She said it would mislead people. If she was dating Weasley, no one could suspect us. No one except Ginny over there," he said triumphantly.

"How could she like you?" Ron said, now regaining his strength.

"Listen, I don't know. But I really like her, and it's really none of your business. But if you seriously want to make her life a lot easier," he said while flipping Ron's wand in the air to him, "you may want to consider accepting me and her dating. Oh yeah, and don't tell anyone," he finished. He threw Ron's wand back at him and stalked off, their confused expressions still in his head.

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BOOM!

"What was that?" Hermione wondered aloud to Draco. Draco shrugged and turned back to his magazine. BOOM! "Come on, Draco, let's go find out what that is."

"Why?" he drawled lazily.

"We are the Head Girl and Boy. It is our job to help teachers with any trouble!" she explained and grabbed her wand off the table. Draco grudgingly followed her out of the common room. BOOM!

"It's coming from upstairs, judging by the muffled sounds, I'd say 7th floor," Draco said. Hermione stared at him. Distance had always been a specialty of his, and he loved outsmarting the Gryffindor know-it-all, even if she was his girlfriend.

Hermione led the way upstairs, and they clearly saw what was going on. Ron and Harry were having a wizard's duel, and Harry had apparently knocked over a few things. Ron was on the ground, panting, and bleeding slightly. Harry was in a better state, but he was clutching a hand to his chest. There were a crowd of spectators around them, but if one of them got to close, a magically force field pushed them back.

Draco tested the force field and found it to be strong. "Finite Incantatem!" he said, shooting the spell at the invisible wall. He stepped into their fighting 'arena'.

"Well, well, well, we are in trouble. Weasley, you're bleeding there, to the hospital wing with you. Potter you should go also I think; broken rib it looks like. Finnigan, Longbottom, make sure they get there in one piece. I'll be seeing McGonagall about you two," Draco said, taking charge. Hermione stepped forward.

"And note that 30 points will be taken from Gryffindor house, and both of you will receive a weeks worth of detentions. With me," she added. If Draco was shocked, it was nothing compared to Harry and Ron's faces. They gaped at her with expressions that mirrored a fish out of water. Nonetheless, they allowed themselves to be escorted by Neville and Seamus to the hospital wing.

"Nice touch there, Head Girl!" Draco complimented, but he was the only one. Angry faces surrounded her as the Gryffindors raged about the point deduction. "Traitor," they muttered, "disloyal to her house and friends." Hermione sighed and trudged back to her common room. Draco went to find Professor McGonagall.

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Draco soared through the air, searching desperately for the snitch. He dodged a bludger and dove under Crabbe, Blaise, and Goyle to reach the other end of the pitch. He turned around, eyes darting around, and noticed a group of students on the ground; the Gryffindor quidditch team. Angry, he flew down and landed next to Harry.

"Whatcha doing here, Potter?" he asked. His team flew down to stand next to him and find out what was going on. Crabbe and Goyle surrounded him like body guards.

"Quidditch practice!" Potter responded. There was something about his tone that Draco didn't like. He eyed him curiously.

"Sorry, Potter, you see, you have to book the pitch to practice, and I believe I have done that. For _Slytherin_, not Gryffindor," he said politely. His surrounding teammates cackled lightly and threw dirty looks at the opposing team.

"Sorry, Malfoy, you see, I have a note here from Professor McGonagall, and I don't believe you do," he sneered. This time the Gryffindor team burst out laughing. Harry read the note aloud.

I hereby give the Gryffindor team to use the pitch today for practice, owing to the fact that the Slytherin team is full of ugly, bullying gits, and is captained by an even greater ugly, bullying, meddlesome git.

The entire Gryffindor team let out shrieks of laughter. Harry was doubled up on the ground, and Ron was slapping his thigh with his hand. Ginny was rolling on the ground and seemed to be having trouble breathing.

Draco launched himself at Harry and was held back only by Hermione, who was struggling to keep a hold on his quidditch robes. "You-are-Head-Boy!" she grumbled while trying to restrain Draco's attempts to cause serious pain to the Gryffindor captain. Harry was still laughing.

Draco stopped trying to attack Harry and was panting. "That was a nasty little trick you played on him, Harry, getting him back from second year!" Hermione shrieked. "Go away now, leave the team alone to practice in peace!"

"Yeah, Harry, we better," Ron said seriously, "Before his Father comes and buys them some new brooms." He put his nose in the air and drawled lazily, "My father, Weasley, can afford the best."

The Gryffindor team howled more with laughter, and Draco dove onto Ron.

There was a scuffle as Ron's yells were drowned out by Draco yelling, "Don't ever insult me again!" and Blaise Zabini yelling," Get him Draco!" Hermione shrieked and grabbed Draco and pulled him off of Ron. She twisted him around as he yelled, "Get off me!" She kissed his tender lips to make him shut up. His arms snaked around her waist and she put her arms around his neck. She broke the kiss and looked at him. He suddenly understood; she couldn't choose between her friends and him, they would have to get along if he didn't want to lose her.

Draco walked over, took Ron by the hand, and helped him up. "Sorry mate," he grumbled and walked off to the changing rooms. He took a long shower and waited until all of his teammates had left before getting out of his stall. He grabbed his broom and shouldered it.

No one was outside waiting for him this time, not that he had expected it. He mounted his broom and flew around all of Hogwarts. He soared over the forest for a bit, and even let him feet glide on top of the cool lake before turning in for the night. It was already very late and if he was caught he would have a lot to explain.

He met no one until he came past the Charms corridor. He could hear voices coming from an unused classroom. It seemed like two people were arguing. He edged closer for the better to hear.

"The Dark Lord is very busy, Dumbledore, he is no time for him now, but soon he will find time." This was, undoubtedly, the voice of Professor Snape. Snape and Dumbledore must be having a meeting, but why here? He moved closer to the door so he was only inches from it.

"Yes, Severus, very well. But what do we do with young Mr. Malfoy? Surely he wishes to be like his father, no doubt?" Dumbledore responded.

"I have never asked him of his loyalties, sir."

"You may do so now then, for he is listening outside this door Severus."

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**Alright, a short chapter, but that seemed like a good spot to stop. I only got three reviews, but I promised it by Monday night, and its Monday night here. (U.S. Eastern time). My vacation was wonderful, pretty good weather, but I'm psyched to be back and writing. I want some more reviews! Ok, so here's the recognition for those nice people who DID review. Thanks a lot! **

_ImmortalJuliet- I'm glad you like it, and here's another chapter!_

_theBomb- Here's my update and you will see a lot of "furious" Ron in future chapters. I feel like I rushed the relationship but there will be problems. And, actually, my sister is older than me. I'm fourteen and she's about to turn eighteen. She reads fanfiction but doesn't write it, but still, she spends a lot of time on the computer. _

_Tgmoxie- Thanks for another review! And I love how Ginny is making the two confess too haha. Hence, why I made her do it. Keep reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter. _


	8. Draco's Loyalties

_Disclaimer-Don't own it...blah blah._

**A/n-Review recognition first:**

_Tgmoxie- I didn't really like chapter 7 myself, but it was difficult to imagine their reactions to Hermione dating Draco. And Hermione is very confused right now, she loves her friends so much but there's something about Draco that she likes also. She's still getting over the shock of her friends' reactions and is a bit angry at them. Personally, taking points from her own friends and house shows them that she is serious. Maybe Draco is rubbing off on her a bit…_

_Greenday409- When I updated the story, I was excited too. Just a few hours and I get more reviews! _

_ImmortalJuliet- Here's the next chapter. Glad you like. _

_theBomb- I thought this was a funny chapter too. It had a bit of edgy side to it, but it made me laugh to write it. _

_Jaina Solo Potter- Awesome story? Woah thanks! Here's the next chapter- To this awesome story. _

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Draco's Loyalties

"Malfoy! Get in here!" barked Snape. Draco pushed open the door and walked into the two professor's meeting room.

"Y-yes, Professor Snape?" Draco asked. He was shaking in fear, what would he tell them?

"I presume," Professor Dumbledore stated calmly, "that you heard the last bit regarding where your loyalties stand, Mr. Malfoy."

"Yes sir, I…" he trailed off.

"Draco, your father being who he is, it must be a difficult decision. But what is the right thing to do, Draco?" Dumbledore said slyly. His blue eyes gleamed and seemed oddly round.

"My father, sir, already has plans for me. I'm supposed to become a death eater very soon. It was planned on the Christmas holidays but the Dark Lord doesn't have time. I don't want to be a death eater but there is no way to get out of it, sir."

"There are ways, Mr. Malfoy."

"Don't you think it better Headmaster that Draco becomes a death eater? Another spy for the Order is a perfect plan," Snape added crisply.

"A spy? But that's dangerous, isn't it?" Draco asked, suddenly tense. Malfoy's may be purebloods, but they were also true Slytherins, and don't like to risk their necks for the well being of others.

"Very dangerous, but helpful. However, you are much too young," Dumbledore said firmly. "You may go."

Draco trudged out of the room and up to his common room. He was determined not to say anything to Hermione. Unfortunately, she noticed his glum look, and inquired about it. "It's nothing," he snapped at her. "It's none of your business anyways."

"I was just asking. Can't a girlfriend ask why her boyfriend is looking sad?" she said, and walked over to him. She sat on his lap, looking concerned.

"Not today, she can't," he said. He wasn't in the mood for doing anything right now. Even kissing, which was exactly what Hermione began doing. He shoved her off of him.

"I'm not in the mood, ok?" he said grumpily and strutted off to his room. He lay there very late into the night thinking about the days' events. Everything was so confusing. He turned over on his back and fell asleep.

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"Ouch, stop it! Don't touch me!" Draco mumbled as he woke up to a tapping on his head. He blinked his eyes open. It was still dark out, but little rays of sunshine were breaking through the misty morning dawn. An owl was sitting above him, pecking him to death with its beak.

Draco untied the scroll that was on his leg and read the following message:

Draco-

Why were you in such a bad mood earlier? You can tell me anything, you know that. I'll be in the library, come and find me.

Love from,

Hermione

Draco jumped into the shower, letting the warm drops of water pelt his body. He dried himself off and toweled his hair dry. He got dressed into his black school robes and set off for Hermione after one last look in the mirror.

Students and teachers alike usually avoided Draco, mainly because he didn't like to be questioned. Today, the corridors were packed with kids trying to make their way to their classes. Draco was glad to say he had 2 free periods off in a row, as did Hermione. Through the hustle and bustle he managed to push his way into the library, tracing the familiar path to the spot where Hermione and he usually worked.

There she was; as beautiful as ever. Draco immediately felt guilty for his behavior the previous night. She wasn't alone though; Harry and Ron were there also, and they were talking in hushed whispers. A stab of jealousy pierced his chest. Hermione, sensing she was being watched no doubt, looked up at him.

Her eyes killed him; they were not soft like they normally were. They were almost sad, yet they were sharp. He had never felt that he regretted anything more in his life than upsetting her.

"Draco…" she moaned softly. Her voice didn't seem angry; rather it seemed to plead for him.

"Can we talk," Draco asked, "privately?" He tried to make her forgive him using his eyes, but he was never one to be good with emotion. She nodded her head and Draco went to sit down. Harry and Ron got up and left; Ron looked murderous.

He sat down next to her and turned her face to his using his hand. He gently pressed his lips against hers and then pulled away. "Sorry about last night. Nothing gave me the right to do that to you," he said quietly. She wasn't looking at him anymore. She seemed to find a little more interest in the book she was reading.

"I forgive you," she said finally. She put her arms around him tightly. Draco, not knowing what to do, patted her on the back a bit.

"I'm not used to this girlfriend and boyfriend thing. It's a bit new to me, I'm really just used to kissing girls and stuff like that," he said, a bit uncertain.

"Well, maybe I could have a lesson?" she said seductively. Draco smirked mischievously.

"Certainly, you can, but you do pretty well on your own," he said slyly. She laughed; Draco's lungs were swelling with air, he was so relieved. "And I promise not to push you off this time," he added.

"So, what happened last night that was so bad that you refused kissing?" she asked. Draco realized that it must have had a big effect on her. Did she really care about him that much?

"I'm serious, that's none of your business Hermione. I don't want to upset you, ok?" Draco said in a pleading voice.

"I don't take 'no' for an answer. Common room, now," Hermione demanded and began packing up her books. She dragged Draco out of the library and down the hallways that were now deserted to their common room.

"Out!" she shouted to Harry and Ron who were waiting for her inside their common room. They dragged themselves out looking sulky. As Harry was leaving after Ron, he turned around and looked at Draco. He held up ten fingers and pointed to himself and then Draco and mouthed talking. Draco nodded.

Hermione had sat on the couch and was looking at him. He sighed and took the seat next to her; she cuddled close to him. Her eyes pleaded him for his answer. He sighed again.

"I can't Hermione," said regretfully. He let her lips crash onto his for awhile, and enjoyed the feeling of her on top of him.

"You can tell me anything, you know I don't like being lied to."

"I'm not lying to you!"

"You're keeping me in the dark Draco!"

"You'll worry. And worse of all, you won't be able to stay with me if you knew," he said.

"You're not cheating on me are you?" she yelled at him.

"No, of course not," he said calmly.

"Tell me Draco, what is so important that you have to keep from me." He sighed for the third time. It was no use; he would have to tell her. Maybe she would understand.

"Remember when I told you I didn't want to be a death eater?"

"How could I forget?"

"I have to become one Hermione. If I try not too, my dad will kill me. I mean, he's spent half his life telling the Dark Lord I will become one of his faithful servants, so there's no backing out now," he explained.

"You've told me this before, Draco, I understand."

"Then why aren't you disgusted with me! Hermione, I'm going to be a death eater! I'm going to kill people and take orders from someone like a slave. You should hate me…" he said.

"You aren't going to be a death eater Draco," she said easily. "Dumbledore can protect you."

"I don't want that bat's help," he snarled.

"He's going to help you, because I love you. And if you're a death eater I can't date you. And for that, I would hate myself." Draco felt stabs of guilt in his heart; what she was saying was right.

"We have time to figure this out Hermione. I'll try to do something about it. For now, can you forget about it?" he said cautiously.

"I can't forget about it, but I can try not to think about it. Now, how about that lesson?" she finished, smiling. Draco smirked. Draco let his lips push themselves onto hers and placed his tongue into her mouth. His hands went through her hair (with difficulty because it was frizzy) and her hands were around his neck.

Draco didn't bother stopping when he heard a noise coming from the other side of the room, not knowing it was Harry opening the portrait door.

"Ugh, can't you two do that in one of your rooms?" he said, disgusted with the fact that his best friend and worst enemy were making out on a couch. Draco sat up and took his hands away from Hermione face. Hermione's face was beet red.

"Sorry Harry, we shouldn't have…" Hermione said apologetically.

"Don't be sorry, he walked in on us! Of course we should have, we can do what we like, can't we?" he asked Hermione rather than Harry.

"Skip the lecture, he have to talk. Me and Draco have to talk," he added as Hermione got up.

"Oh, ok," she said and went upstairs to her room. Draco settled himself in his armchair by the fire and tried to fix his hair. Harry sat in the armchair Hermione usually occupied.

"So, you and Hermione are getting close," Harry said quietly.

"Yeah," Draco said in a bored tone.

"She's spending a lot of time with you lately, even if you seem to upset her every other night."

"That's none of your business Potter," he said angrily, "and cut to the chase, what do you want?"

"Hermione may fall for your act, Malfoy, but I don't. I know your going to be a death eater; I hear things other people don't. So what are you doing with her? You're going to break her heart, Malfoy," he said. He sounded like he had sympathy for Hermione, not really like he was jealous.

"I'm not acting. Yeah, I'm going to be a death eater, but if I had life my way, I wouldn't be. I may hate you Potter, but I don't want you dead," he explained lazily. He was growing bored of telling people this.

"It's your own fault you're becoming a death eater Malfoy. No one is forcing you."

"Again, you're wrong. Someone is forcing me to, and I don't want to be one, ok? I'm doing my best to stop it but it's a bit hard, considering it's my own father that is making me!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"You're not sorry, now get out of here. I have to get ready for classes."

Harry walked out of the room and Draco went upstairs to get ready. He fixed his hair and robes and grabbed his schoolbag. Hermione was waiting for him downstairs and they left for classes together.

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"You said you were going to the ball with me!" Draco complained loudly.

"That was just so we could tell Ron and the others, Draco!" Hermione shot back.

"But…"

"We agreed; nobody else can know about us!" she defended. "I'll still dance with you two times, I promise."

"Ok, but no kissing other guys or getting too close to them!" Draco assured her.

"Fine, but you can't dance with Pansy!" she said.

"That's unfair."

"I don't want that slut near you! She'll try to take you back to her bed. Come on, Draco, you know it's true."

"I won't do that with her-" he complained.

"You have before, what makes me sure you won't!"

"Not while I was dating you! Why can't you trust me?" Draco shouted at her.

"Why can't you trust me?" Hermione asked.

"Ok, fine, I trust you. You can dance with anyone you want if I can," he reasoned.

"Fair enough."

"And the after party is still on for me right?" Draco said slyly.

"Yeah sure, if I don't drink anything."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"If I'm drunk, I might do something with you I don't want to," she explained.

"I'll make sure to slip you something then," he said gleefully.

"Is that all you want from me?" she spat angrily. Damn it, he made another of his mistakes.

"Of course not Hermione. Wait a minute; you think all I want to date you for is to do stuff with?"

"No...I…"

"Hermione I would never! Maybe with Parkinson, but not with you. I really like you." She smiled a bit.

"You know, maybe if you asked me for a dance at the ball, I would dance a third time…" she said. Draco positively beamed.

"You're the only person who can make me smile Hermione," he said happily. Hermione kissed him desperately on the lips and Draco savored every second of it.

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**A/n-well, there you have it! Chapter 8! Hope you all enjoy/enjoyed Half Blood Prince, I sure did. I finished on Sunday. This story obviously exempts from all events in Half Blood Prince. Please review, thanks! **

**!Krista!**


	9. The Halloween Ball

_Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the songs used in this chapter of this fanfiction. So don't sue me. _

**A/n- Here's the chapter you have all been waiting for, the Halloween Ball! I've been planning this one out for a while, so I hope you enjoy. **

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The Halloween Ball

Draco fussed with his green robes as he waited for Hermione to come down. He didn't have a date for the ball and neither did she; this was all planned. He was simply going to escort her into the Hall. No one would suspect, except those who knew, that anything was between the two. They would simply be the Head Boy and Girl coming into the hall.

He checked his hair in the mirror in his room, as Hermione was occupying the bathroom. He rapped on the door loudly. "Are you almost done, we are going to be late!" he said annoyingly.

"Two more minutes, Draco. And don't be silly, we can't be late, we go into the hall first!" came  
Hermione's voice.

He tapped his foot while he waited, and finally decided to wait in the common room. His steps echoed off the stone walls as he walked downstairs. He looked towards her door every five seconds to see if she was there. Finally, he heard the muffled footsteps.

Hermione appeared through the door, looking so beautiful Draco couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her dress was a red halter dress with silver sparkles on edges and top. Her hair was up in a fancy knot and looked (amazingly) not frizzy. She had put on make-up and lip gloss, which really brought out her eyes. Overall, Draco was impressed.

Hermione walked over to Draco and closed his mouth, which was open and gaping at her. She pressed her lips against hers in a light kiss and took his arm. Draco led the way out of their common room and down the hallways. On the marble staircase he stopped, once more to admire her appearance.

"You look…amazing, beautiful, I don't even know the word," he said sweetly. She smiled and continued their way down the stairs. The crowd parted at their arrival and they walked to the doors. Professor McGonagall nodded in their direction and got the attention of the students by sending up a serious of red sparks which cracked in the air.

When the talking died down, Professor McGonagall spoke. "Welcome to the Halloween Ball, presented to you by this years' Heads and prefects." There was a polite round of clapping. "The Head Boy and Girl will open the Ball with a dance. Then the feast will occur, and then the ball. Heads, if you will proceed."

Draco and Hermione stepped through the open doors and a beautiful sight met their eyes. Their great plans were now there, in real life, in front of them. The dancing floor was cleared, and there were small tables set up like in the Yule Ball. Draco led Hermione to the dance floor. There was Muggle music playing today because the Weird Sisters were on tour in Brazil this year. The music was being blared out of ordinary muggle speakers that Dumbledore had somehow got to work.

Hermione placed her arms around his neck and he placed his hands on her lower back. They moved slowly to the music.

_Guess you never really know  
Just what you've got  
'Til you finally realize  
She could be gone  
I know that I've been taking you for granted  
For the longest time  
All you wanted  
Was someone who really cares  
And I didn't even  
Notice you were there  
I promise that I'll never ever  
Make that same mistake not twice_

Draco had no idea who sung the song or what it was called. All he knew was that it reminded him a little bit of himself and Hermione. As the lyrics went on he saw Hermione was thinking the same thing.

_That was then  
This is now  
Took some time to come around  
All I wanna do  
Is try again  
Show you how  
I know that it's all about  
Givin' attention to you  
I was a fool for way too long  
What you wanted, could not see  
That was then  
This is now  
Took some time to figure out  
Love is all you need_

Draco sighed and listened more closely. He was very aware of his hands sliding farther down her back and caught them before they went too far. Nobody can see us together, he reminded himself.

_You're always my priority  
And I wanna give you more  
Than all the love you need  
Took a little time  
But now you know I finally see  
That you're my world (yeah)_

I never want our love to fade ready, willing  
And I'm gonna do whatever it takes  
No I'm never gonna let it all slip away  
'Cause you're my girl, yes you are

**(That Was then, by Jesse McCartney)**

After that Draco felt almost miserable. He couldn't even spend the night with his girlfriend. The song ended and he felt her slide away from him. He went to a table and sat down with Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Dunno why you're looking so miserable mate, you finally got away from that mudblood," Blaise said. Pansy took his hand and led him to the dance floor where there was a fast song going on. He forced a smile onto his face. Pansy began 'grinding' with him, and he saw Hermione's eyes on the back of his head. He felt even worse.

He finally escaped from Pansy to get himself a drink. Hermione was there also and talking to Harry. She looked at him and then quickly looked away. He edged closer to her and pretended to be getting a pasty.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. She nodded and pretended to be listening to Harry, but Draco knew she was thinking about him. He walked back to his table and ate some food that was on his plate. He didn't dance for a long time, but when the same singer came on that had played the first song, he went over to ask Hermione to dance.

"A dance Ms. Head Girl?" he said, sneering slightly. Harry gave him an approving look and Hermione responded with a simple "Fine."

They wrapped each other in their arms and moved slowly to the music again. Hermione didn't really look at him at all, maybe she was still angry about earlier, or maybe she didn't want people getting the wrong idea. Or the right idea. The chorus of the song ended and Draco listened to the rest of the song. The song was almost done, they had come on late.

_You can just be yourself,  
'Cause I don't want nobody else.  
All of your secrets are safe with me.  
For the kind of love you can trust,   
For more than just a crush,  
Baby, won't you just come to me_

_Let me be the one,  
Telling you it's alright  
Sharing the smiles and tears you cry.  
Let me be the one,  
Loving you when you're weak.  
For all of the strength you need,  
You can come to me.  
_

_  
When I got you in my arms  
Say it's where you wanna be (where you wanna be, yeah)  
'Cause girl I'm down on my knees  
Promising my heart oh, my heart_

**(Come to me, by Jesse McCartney)**

Hermione had tears in her eyes at the end of the song and rushed out of Draco's grasp. Draco dropped his gaze of her and sulked off. He wished he could tell people about them, so he could dance all night with her. Blaise and Pansy were coming off the floor from dancing too.

"Why were you dancing with Granger?" Pansy spat at him.

"Thought it would be polite. Show a bit of house unity, you know. That's all, don't worry Pansy."

"We get to dance now!" Pansy shrieked and dragged him off to the dance floor. Draco spent the next hour being flirted with by Pansy and danced with. It was very annoying and Hermione was looking sulky. He sighed and shrugged off Pansy telling her he had to go the bathroom. He mouthed the words, "Bathroom, now!" to Hermione.

He walked over to the doors and out into the entrance hall. He walked over to where there was a girls and boys bathroom and waited for Hermione. She appeared seconds later, her lips looking a bit swollen to Draco.

"You wanted me?" she said.

"Yeah, I saw you looking kind of out of it over there…" he said, concerned. "Are you angry with me? I'll stop dancing, Pansy dragged me over there, it wasn't my idea, I swear."

"It's not that, I don't care. Actually, I do care, but it's not that really. I…well…I didn't do it, Draco, I swear…" she said uneasily.

"Who kissed you?" he said lazily.

"Terry Boot. I shoved him off of me but he is quite strong, Draco. Listen, I'm sorry."

"As long as you didn't kiss back, I'm fine with it. I deserve it…" he said.

"No way, if anything, you get a reward. I don't know anyone who would want Pansy grinding with them," she said while laughing. She strode out of sight as Draco finished laughing at her comment.

Draco headed back to the ball where he was eagerly joined by a very excited Pansy, who was telling him all about who danced with whom and the new school couples, all of which seriously bored Draco. She seemed most excited by the prospect of dancing with him again, but he said he was too tired. She gave him a peck on the lips and walked off. Draco wiped his lips off with his robes' sleeve. Blaise was sniggering on the other side of the table. Draco shot him a look.

The rest of the ball zoomed by in a whirl of people dancing, drinking and laughing. Hermione, Draco noticed, didn't dance with anyone else either. Pansy yawned and told Draco she was going to bed early; she didn't care to see him dancing the last dance with a mudblood. Draco got up, sneaked over behind Hermione, and tapped her. He urged her to follow him.

When they were on the far side of the Hall, Draco put a spell on her to make her resemble Pansy. "Noo!" she shrieked in Pansy's voice. "I don't want to look like this-"she said but was cut off by Draco's lips. Panting she pulled back. No one had noticed them.

"Let's dance, _Pansy_," he said. He laughed and she followed him. They reached the dance floor where couples were dancing. They had to side step a few couples who were grinding and moving very fast. "Grind with me," he whispered. She looked hesitant.

_Baby grind with me  
Relax your mind take your time with me  
I love you deeper if you cry for me  
Now come and kiss me till yo body gets weak  
Just grind with me baby  
Grind with me  
Relax your mind take your time with me  
I love you deeper if you cry for me  
Now come and kiss me till yo body gets weak  
Just grind with me baby_

**(Grind with me, by Pretty Ricky)**

She wasn't as good as Pansy, he had to admit, but it wasn't like he wanted Pansy near him anyways. After a while he got tired and they sat down. He took the charm off of her so she could talk to her friends. His friends had gone off to bed as well. Not many Slytherins were left, just some of the younger kids who had never been to a dance here before. He was barely listening to their conversation, and when Hermione dragged him up onto the floor, he regained his composure.

Their final song was perfect; all of the other couples joined them halfway through. Draco could see Potter dancing with Weasley and Ron with that strange girl Luna Lovegood. When the song ended, he didn't want to let go, but he did anyways.

Hermione and Draco found their way back upstairs and into the common room. The wall clock chimed 12:00; midnight. Hermione looked tired but Draco brought her into his arms. "The after party," he reminded her.

"I'm too tired," she moaned.

"We can sleep. My bed," he said. Her smile faded. She suddenly became stern, like she was scolding a young child.

"We are not, Draco. We are not participating in any sexual activities," she said. Draco almost laughed out loud. Actually, he did. He burst out laughing. Hermione gave him a nasty look.

"Did I say anything about that at all Hermione?" he said slyly.

"No, you didn't, I just assumed…"

"Exactly, you assumed. You promised me, so come up to my room and sleep. The bed is big enough for the two of us," he said.

"No. Tomorrow you get your party. For now, I'm going to bed."

Hermione stalked up her staircase and slammed her door shut. Draco gloomily went up his staircase and stripped down to his boxers and climbed into his bed. But he was struck by a quick thought. He threw on a t-shirt from his trunk and sneaked into the bathroom. He opened Hermione's door slowly and saw that her candle was already out.

He snuck up to her and climbed into her bed. He snuggled close to her. She awoke with a start and shrieked. Draco quickly kissed her to shut her up before she woke up the whole castle. She sunk into the kiss and Draco was reminded of all the times he had upset her. A year ago, he had never thought he would be lying in bed next to Hermione kissing her. He would have thought he was crazy.

Draco hadn't noticed what he had been doing and noticed he was dangerously close to taking off her shirt. He moved his hands back to her hair. She settled back down onto her pillow. Draco rolled off of her.

"You didn't have to stop," she said, snuggling up against to his side.

"Yes I did, I was going too far."

"If you were too far I would have stopped you, Draco."

"That could have turned into something Hermione, you know me."

"Nothing is closer to that then sleeping in the same bed as you."

"Yeah, you're right, but still. Well ok then Ms. I'm-not-ready-for-that-Draco, next time I will go that far. But not tonight, I'm tired," he said lazily. "And stop tensing every time I get close to you, I'm not drunk, I'm not going to do anything to you." Hermione laughed.

The last sounds that came from them were the occasional rustling of the sheets to become comfortable and the deep breathing of them sleeping.

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"Ohmygod." That was what awoke Draco the next morning from his nice sleep. Hermione was sitting straight up in the bed, looking from Draco to herself in horror. "We didn't…"

"Of course not. Will you go back to sleep, it's the crack of dawn," he said sleepily. He lay back down onto the pillow. Hermione got out of bed, grabbed a book off of her bookcase and began reading, after lying back down next to Draco. He snaked his arm around her shoulders and looked at what she was reading. After a few tense minutes, he spoke up.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"_Want_ you to leave? No. But I do want to get changed, so could you please?"

"You can change in front of me, I really don't mind…" he said, not really thinking about what he said.

"You may not mind, but I do. Out!" she demanded. He got up groggily and left.

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**A/n- this was by far the most fun to write. I liked this chapter, and as you can see, Hermione and Draco get a bit closer… Reviews are, as always, appreciated. **

**Reviews! Actually…review…I'm sulking.**

_Greenday409- Thanks, I appreciate it! Hope you like this chapter as well. _


	10. Caught

_Disclaimer: It's still not my stuff….except for this plot but you know that…_

**A/n- Don't worry it stays PG-13…but if you think it goes too much, tell me. **

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Caught

Hermione's door snapped shut with a loud bang. Sobs were being issued from her room in continued intervals. Draco Malfoy was pacing around his common room with his head in his hands, occasionally tipping things over or kicking his favorite armchair.

He let out a sigh and ran his hands through his blonde hair, making it messier than it already was. Why does this have to happen to me, he screamed into his head. He grabbed the nearest object, a glass candle holder, and was about to chuck it in the fireplace when he changed his mind. He put it down slowly and sank into a chair.

This was his fault, he finally reasoned. He made a mistake and maybe she would understand. He would have to go up there and beg on his knees. No way, he said, I am not begging for a mudblood's forgiveness. Woah, stop, since when was she 'mudblood'? She's Hermione, your girlfriend.

Honestly, there was no way she would forgive him. She's not thick, she knew exactly what had happened before Draco even had time to try and convince her otherwise. How could he have been so stupid? He had just stood there and accepted it. He didn't do anything to prevent it happening either. Maybe he should have struggled and made it look like he wasn't enjoying it.

Well, I mean, he wasn't enjoying it exactly, was he? No, he said to himself, he had never enjoyed the attention from Pansy. But what made him do it? An entrancing charm? A love potion?

Draco felt very ready to wring Pansy Parkinson's neck. Did she know about him and Hermione and want to ruin it for them? That was a possibility, and he didn't put it below her to do something like that. But, he thought desperately, it could have been worse. Much worse. Pansy could have written to his father, or even worse, Voldemort. But Pansy was much too thick for something like that.

But she did the next best thing. After dinner, she followed Draco and Hermione while they were going back to the common room. Hermione forgot her bag in the Great Hall and doubled back to get it. The rest was history. Pansy pounced on Draco and began sucking the hell out of his lips. Disgusting! But it got worse; Just as Pansy got her tongue into his mouth by prying his lips open (he was still struggling to get her off of him), Hermione rounded the corner.

The silence that followed was deafening. His heart had been beating in his ears and seemed to be trying to dislodge itself from Draco's chest and proceed into his throat. And then, as expected, she had run off, tears stinging her beautiful chocolate colored eyes. Draco had muttered a goodbye to Pansy and walked as fast as he could away from her.

And here we are, back to his pacing the common room in frustration. Slytherins may have courage, but Draco was not in the mood for being a Slytherin. He wished he was still in bed and that it was this morning. He wished even more, even longingly, of the night a week ago in which he and Hermione had slept peacefully together in her room. Damn it, this was messed up.

The portrait door opened to reveal a very disheveled Ginny Weasley, followed by Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Draco looked wearily up at them and saw Ginny's eyes were a fiery red. Parvati's were glazed over and were looking at Draco. Lavender seemed to be struggling with an urge to jump onto Draco.

"I heard the funniest rumor, Malfoy, on my way back to the common room from dinner. I heard you were seen making out with Pansy Parkinson in the hallway?" Ginny said in a dangerously sweet, innocent voice. Draco had to admit, had she not been a Weasley, and he had not been dating Hermione and very much in love with her, well, very much in 'like' with her, he would have considered dating her.

"The rumor, sadly, is true," he said in a defeated voice.

"Knew it! Knew this would happened; I warned her not to get involved with you!" she screamed in rage.

"Now wait a minute! I didn't say I wanted to be pushed into a wall and forced into kissing Parkinson, did I? She came on to me!" he snarled as his short fuse lit itself.

"Oh really, let's see what Hermione has to say," she said as she ran up the stairs to retrieve his very pissed off girlfriend. Lavender and Parvati seated themselves next to Draco on the couch with dreamy expressions of their faces.

"You know Draco, if it doesn't work out with Hermione, I don't have a boyfriend…" Lavender said hopefully. She was very pretty, he admitted to himself, but that was crossing the line. He chucked the finger at her. She gasped and looked away. Parvati seemed to be not noticing she was staring at Draco and not breathing. She finally sighed and looked at the staircase, looking for an interruption.

That much needed interruption came moments later as Ginny appeared out of the staircase dragging a sobbing Hermione with her. Draco looked away from Hermione because he couldn't stand the look she was giving him.

"Malfoy!" Ginny shouted at him. He turned around to see Hermione standing right in front of him. He backed away slowly.

"Why?" Hermione moaned softly at him. She suppressed a sob. Ginny motioned to Lavender and Parvati and they headed upstairs to Hermione's room. Ginny stayed in the corner to watch.

Draco averted his eyes and looked at Ginny instead. "Not my idea," he muttered so softly Hermione had to lean in to hear. Hermione made a noise that sounded like a choke.

"Draco," she said regaining her composure a bit, "you were up against a wall and her tongue was in your mouth!"

"I know…but I didn't ask her to do it! She sorta…pounced on me after you left. I was trying to get away from her but she's strong for a girl! She's a cow she probably weighs more than me!" he complained to her. Please believe me Hermione…he found himself thinking.

"Draco Malfoy I really like you; why are you doing this to me?" she pleaded with him. Those words broke his heart; he hated to see her disappointed in him. He hung his head and ran his hands through his hair again. He looked up at her eyes which were surveying his behavior expertly. She let out a sigh of relief.

"You're not lying, are you?" she said in a sad voice. "Draco, why do you have to always do these things to me?" Suddenly, she jumped onto his lap and kissed him. Draco's eyes widened. Ginny ran upstairs.

"Wh-What?" he spluttered. "One minute you're pissed at me and the next you're kissing me? Girls' hormones…"

"I believe you. Call me crazy, but I believe you," she murmured.

"You're not crazy. I would never do anything like that to you!"

"The dance…" she muttered.

"You said you were fine with that! If that bothered you so much why didn't you tell me…"

"I didn't want to upset you!"

"Damn it, Hermione! You act like I'm a bomb ready to go off," he said in rage.

"I do not! I don't think that…" she said in an unconvinced voice.

"You do, Hermione, you do. You act like if you make me mad I'm going to attack you or something. You should know by now that you can tell me anything that's on your mind," he said. He shrugged his shoulders and began pacing the room again.

"Yeah, just like you tell me everything Draco! Take your own advice," she retorted.

"That's totally different…That stuff has nothing to do with my love life... our love life!"

"Well maybe these things have nothing to do with us either! Did you ever think about _my_ life Draco? I have other problems too, things you could never understand!"

"Make me understand…" he whispered.

"Not until you let me in on what you are hiding!"

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. "Alright. We can talk, but first, can you please get rid of your friends?"

She laughed and went up to usher them out of the common room. Only after they had all left, the portrait door had been locked for the night, and Hermione had settled herself into her armchair by the fire could they begin their talk.

"So, what do you want to know?" Draco asked nonchalantly.

"What are you doing to get out of this…death eater orientation thing?" she asked.

"Nothing yet. Snape doesn't want me to get out; he wants me to be a spy. But Dumbledore said no…" he explained quickly. "Listen, I don't know much. I'm not exactly hiding things."

"Alright…promise me you'll ask Dumbledore to help?"

"Promise. But enough about me, what about you? Hiding your emotions from me, are you?"

"I'm not hiding emotions; I'm hiding the reason behind the emotions."

"Whatever. Why? What's going on lately? "

"Harry and Ron are mad at me, you're doing things with other people, and I'm starting to fail Charms," she said exasperated.

"I'm doing things- wait! You're failing Charms?"

"Starting to fail…I'm too stressed lately, I can't concentrate."

"Ohh, Hermione. It hasn't been my fault has it?"

"Well…a little…"

"Great. What did I do now?"

"It's my fault too…we've been, you know, doing things, and I can't get my homework done," she said with a guilty voice.

Draco let out a sigh of relief. "Good to see you're lightening up Hermione," he chuckled.

"It's not funny! I can't fail…"

"Yeah, I know, but you have to admit, you have fun, don't you?"

"Yes, but that's beside the point. We have to stop until I get my grade back up."

He thought this over for awhile and then decided it was for the best. "Fine, but we don't have to, you know, break up do we?"

"Of course not," she said. The knot in Draco's heart unraveled itself.

"So what about this fight you're in with Potty and Weasel?"

"Draco Malfoy, I punched you once I'm not afraid to do it again!"

"Alright, alright. So, what's up with you guys?"

"The only reason we argue anymore; you."

"Can't they get over it?"

"They aren't jealous; they are concerned about me. If you stopped pulling stunts they would not have a reason to be concerned."

"I told you, that wasn't my fault. I mean," he said, standing up, "all she did was this." He pushed Hermione into the common room wall and glued his lips onto hers, letting his tongue in without any recognition from her. He paused to let her have her word.

"That is definitely something Draco," she said while panting. "Ok, I may believe you, but they aren't going to! Draco, you have to become friends with them!"

"But…I…"

"Because my friends mean the world to me…and if it came down to you or them, I think…I think I'd probably pick them," she regretfully. So that was it; it was they get along or he loses her. Why was she so…ugh!

"Potter. You'd pick Potter and Weasley. Over me."

"Don't take it that way! You know I like you…but they are my friends and they mean a whole lot to me."

"I understand…I just thought I should mean more…"

"You can mean more, but we aren't close enough. For one, people don't even know about us. And two, my friends are still angry about us. So until we figure these things out…" Draco's lips roughly cut off the end of that sentence. Hermione pushed him back a few feet until he tripped onto the couch. She lied down on top of him and continued kissing him. She wrapped her arms around him and put her tongue into his mouth. He was in total heaven.

He placed his hands on her stomach and massaged them around for a little, getting closer and closer to where he would really like to be. She had said he could do it, though he had never dared go this far. As he went farther and farther up her shirt, her breathing became a bit heavier and Draco could hear her heart pounding. He went up a bit farther, finally reaching the destination. Target landed, he said to himself and laughed in his head.

His hands were tight, as she had been wearing a blouse that day, so he took out his hands and began to unbutton her shirt. He moved his lips and kissed her neck lightly. She moaned softly and Draco smiled. Just as he finished unbuttoning her shirt and he had successfully taken it off of her, he heard the door unclick. No! He thought to himself.

Ginny Weasley arrived through their door looking very pleased about something. The smile on her face quickly faded when she saw the couple. "Oh my god…oh my god…Hermione I am so sorry!" she said quickly before running away.

Hermione's eyes were wide open and her face resembled a tomato. Draco could feel his face pale a bit as well. "Draco, can you get off?" Hermione said quietly. Draco got off of her and sat down on the floor and looked at Hermione. She put back on her shirt carefully and said to him, "How did she get in? I locked that door!" before she ran upstairs to her room.

The door opened again just as Hermione whipped out of site, snapping her door shut for the second time in an hour. It was Ginny again, looking very flustered. "That was the most embarrassing thing ever, I'm so sorry!" she said. Draco nodded.

"I don't care, Hermione does."

"Let's talk to her then."

"Both of us?"

"I think we should have a little chat," she said in her dangerously sweet voice.

"You are not my parents!"

"I've noticed. Just come with me Malfoy, don't be smart," she said in an annoyed tone and dragged him up the stairs to Hermione's bedroom. Ginny knocked and opened the door. Hermione was lying in her bed. Reading a book. She was reading a book. She came up here to read a book.

"Get out Malfoy," she said without looking to see who came out.

"Why not Draco? And Ginny is here too," he added.

"WHAT!" she said as she turned around so fast she landed on the floor with a thud. Ginny suppressed a giggled and finally let go of Draco's hand. Hermione's face was now a deep shade of magenta.

"Hermione, you, me and Draco are going to have a talk," she said nicely. Hermione put on a pout but let them sit anyways.

"What do you want weaselette?" Draco asked jerkily. Hermione silenced him with a look.

"Sorry, you know, I figured you guys would just talk, that's all. I didn't know talking required that much…lip movement, if you know what I mean." She laughed again. Hermione looked liked she had been slapped. "Anyways, I apologize. But you two have got some explaining to do," she said seriously.

"As in what?" Hermione asked. She reddened again.

"I didn't know you two had gone that far," she said and giggled again.

"That's none of your business," Hermione said as she took the words right out of Draco's mouth.

"I'm your best friend, don't you at least tell me these things?" she said.

"It's embarrassing."

"Again, that's what best friends are for. To talk to about this stuff. I know what it's like, I can help you…"

"Don't tell me you got this far?" Draco laughed.

"Actually I have but I can tell you I didn't get caught."

"That door was locked!"

"That's my fault I didn't think I would see…see…_that_ on the couch. I'm glad I've never walked in on you guys before."

"It wouldn't have mattered before tonight. This was the first time…" Hermione muttered. Ginny gasped and cursed.

"I better…I better go…see you tomorrow Hermione." With that, Ginny left and left Hermione looking me straight in the eyes. What did I do?

"That was so embarrassing," she confessed.

"I shouldn't have. It was my fault."

"Both of our faults, it should have been upstairs. And I'm glad you did."

"What do you mean? We are lucky it was Ginny! If it was Harry or Ron…I shudder to think…" Draco barked at her.

"It's no big deal. It was bound to happen eventually. And I mean, it's not like it was totally worthless," she said quietly.

"I've done it a thousand times," he said. Then he quickly cursed under his breath. "I'm sorry."

She gulped back what seemed to be an oncoming sob. "Forget about it, I knew those things about you. But no denying it, it comes in handy, doesn't it?" she said. She wasn't even smiling; she was smirking at him.

"You like that, naughty girl?"

She hesitated. "Yeah, I definitely enjoyed it." And she smirked again.

"Again?"

"Sounds good to me…"

We'll leave them at it.

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After a fun little event, Draco found himself granted a gift. Hermione had fallen asleep on top of him, and he had sneaked out from under her, gone to change, and came back, slipping into bed next to her. He drifted calmly into sleep, but she wasn't quite asleep as he thought.

"I think I may love you Draco Malfoy," she whispered softly and rested her head on his strong chest.

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**A/n- Had to add that last bit. Hope you liked it and it wasn't too…detailed. Yeah… If you liked it or even if you didn't, please review! **

**Review! **

_Greenday409- Aww, thanks for your review. Glad you like my story. Yes, I have read HBP I finished on Sunday and I'm rereading it now. _

**Reviews please! Just write a short review if you can, thanks!**


	11. Blonde Gets Evil

_Disclaimer- Same as always…_

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Blonde gets Evil

"Where am I?" Draco muttered. He looked around and noticed he was in a room similar to his, but with red and gold hangings. Ugh, Gryffindor colors. Oh that's right; he slept in Hermione's room last night.

Hermione turned over but her eyes were still closed. She blinked them open, focusing the room into view. Noticing Draco, she leapt in surprise. She swiveled her head from side to side then laid down again, breathing out a sigh.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Draco said soothingly.

"Out," she muttered and pointed to the door. Draco picked himself up and dragged himself to the door. Women… he thought vaguely. He went through the connecting bathroom door and passed into his room, grabbing robes and changing.

He didn't bother waiting for Hermione this morning, but instead decided to seek out Blaise. When he first entered the Great Hall, people turned around and looked at him. Whispers followed him until he sat down next to Blaise at the Slytherin Table. Blaise gave him an odd look but continued eating. Most of his housemates ignored him completely.

Pansy Parkinson was marching up the isle to Draco's seat. He had figured people would have known how Pansy had cornered him, and believed this to be the reason of everyone's whisperings. Pansy, however, brought to light a new idea.

"How could you, you little…traitor!" she gasped at him.

"What are you babbling on about Parkinson?" he asked lazily. Blaise snorted into his goblet.

"You and Granger. Dating? Don't tell me this is news to you, everyone knows Draco," she said in a girly voice. Draco shot a look at the Gryffindor table and saw that Parvati and Lavender were staring at him, wide eyed with their hands over their mouths. They mouthed the word _oops _to Draco. Draco raised a fist and slammed it onto the Slytherin table. Everyone stopped talking immediately and looked around at Draco.

"What is all this?" he said in an official-like voice.

"You and Granger are dating!" she shrieked. There was no point denying it; if Parvati and Lavender had told everyone then they knew the truth. But this aroused new problems. If Pansy wrote to his father he would be in a lot of trouble. Pansy didn't know how his father had laid out his future, so she may not think of it. He decided to play it cool.

"So?" he said coolly. Pansy looked furious; she had probably been hoping the rumors weren't true. The whispering got louder and louder until the Great Hall doors slammed open, revealing Hermione. The Hall suddenly became quiet.

"Granger!" Pansy barked. Hermione swiveled around to see Pansy's fist collide with the side of her head. Draco was up in an instant and prying Pansy off of a whimpering Hermione.

"Pansy, you keep your hands off my girlfriend you little slut!" he screamed and whipped his wand out of his pocket. He about to curse her head off when a curt voice behind him said, "Drop that wand Mr. Malfoy, or you'll be expelled also."

Professor McGonagall was behind him. He had forgotten that they were in the Great Hall filled with teachers. He was also Head Boy, he had forgotten.

"Expelled professor?" Pansy said in a weak little voice. Draco's mood turned to pure glee.

"Oh yes Ms. Parkinson. You have a bad record; I will be seeing professor Snape about you. Meanwhile, I think Mr. Malfoy will take care of your punishment."

Draco smirked broadly. Hermione was in a right state and Draco wanted to take her to the hospital wing. The Slytherins watched angrily to see how many points Draco would take off his own house. "Note that 20 points will be taken off Slytherin and if Pansy doesn't get expelled she will have detention for the rest of the year," he said, more to his house than to Pansy.

"Draco…" she said weakly.

"Don't talk to me you whore, I don't want to ever speak to you again. Stay away from me and Hermione," he snapped at her and he helped Hermione up. He helped her through the halls to get to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey didn't ask too many questions; Draco just told her that the teachers were handling it. She wanted to keep Hermione the whole day, but she wanted to leave. She didn't want to miss classes.

"Draco this complicated things," she said as they made their way to Charms. They were going to be late but they were Head Boy and Girl so the teachers wouldn't care.

"I told you, I will handle it."

"Not your housemates, Draco, your father," she said like it was obvious.

"We'll talk later," he said shortly as they entered the Charms room amid cheers from the Gryffindors that were happy to see Hermione happy. Ron wasn't clapping and neither were the Slytherins that managed to get into this advanced class. Some of the girls looked sulky.

The Charms class started. Draco felt no need to pay attention and instead found Hermione's foot and started playing footsie with her. She pushed his foot away and growled, "Not now I'm trying to pay attention Draco."

Draco sighed and looked blankly at the board behind Professor Flitwick. He used his wand to hover his quill in midair and let it zoom around the room and hit the Professor in the back of the head. Harry, who had saw what had happened, sniggered as Professor Flitwick turned around. Harry aimed another one at his head and bounced off again. He pretended to be copying notes like everyone else and Draco followed. Hermione kicked him.

"What?" he whispered.

"You shouldn't have done that, you could have got in trouble!" she whispered back urgently.

"So what, lighten up Hermione, I don't care if I get detention."

"Fine," she said and began copying down notes again. At the end of the class they were assigned a 5 foot long essay on the notes they had taken in class and it was perhaps entirely all Draco and Harry's fault.

Draco followed Harry and Ron out of the room with Hermione in tail. "Nice one Potter!" he said while slapping Harry high five. Ron laughed and Hermione looked sulky. The Slytherins and Gryffindors laughed as they headed back to Draco and Hermione's common room. They all had break until lunch and then one class and then they were done for the rest of the day. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco entered the Heads' common room.

Harry and Ron looked around nervously and finally collapsed into the couch. It was a bit cold in the room and Draco lit the fireplace. He sat in his armchair and Hermione settled himself in is lap with a smug look on her face. Ron looked away but Harry smiled at Draco.

Draco began talking about quidditch and Ro and Harry eagerly discussed with him all sorts of things. Draco told them all about games he'd been to see and they all contributed to the conversation about the World Cup.

"Yeah, Fred and George reckoned Krum would catch the snitch but Ireland would win. Dunno how they knew really…"Ron explained to Draco. Draco glanced at his watch and jumped up, knocking Hermione to the ground. He helped her up and kissed her on the cheek. "Sorry 'Mione," he said quickly and grabbed his bag.

"We're 5 minutes late for class, Snape'll kill you guys," he said and ran to the portrait door which flew open right before him.

Lucius Malfoy strode into the room, his wand in front of him and his eyes gleaming maliciously. He sidestepped Draco and looked first at Ron, then Harry and finally rested on Hermione. "Well, well ,well, look at what we have here. Weasley, Potter and Granger. How…nice," he said in a deeply evil voice. He smirked at Draco and quickly stunned Harry and Ron. He turned on Hermione and raised his wand, but Draco was too quick for him. He grabbed his wrist and twisted it painfully. His father rounded on him.

"Something wrong Draco?" he asked.

"Don't you touch her," he snarled. "Get out of here, what if they catch you?"

"You care not if they catch me. Actually, you prefer it, don't you Draco?" he said crisply.

Draco glared at him maliciously with hatred. He drew his wand slowly from his pocket. His father didn't notice.

"Ah, using Occlumency against me are you boy? Who taught you that, Severus? Well he's done well, I must admit. What are you hiding son?" he said in a dangerous voice.

"I am hiding nothing. I have-I have no reason to hide anything from you. Why are you here?"

"I received a very odd letter from Ms. Parkinson this morning. Concerning you and this," he said pointing to Hermione, "Mudblood."

"Don't you dare call her that!" Draco shouted and raised his wand. But before he could curse his father to hell and back, Lucius was blasted into the opposite wall. Draco Malfoy had, for the first time, lost control and turned his anger into magic. His father lifted himself gingerly from the ground, his wand aloft.

His face was forced into somewhat of a grimace, his eyes dangerously sharp and his muscles tense. "You're making a mistake Draco, and you would do best to fix it. Chuck this girl away or you will deal with me!" he said quickly, as Harry feebly stirred. "You will pay the price for your action, the Dark Lord will not be pleased!"

"I don't care about Him! You promised me to him, I said nothing. I'm not going to live your tyranny any longer!" Draco shouted across the room and sent a hex at his father.

"Punishment is sweet Draco. _Crucio!_" he bellowed and Draco began to twitch and shriek. The pain would have been worse, perhaps, if this had not happened to him before. He concentrated his mind and forced off the curse. His father staggered back. "My only son…Fool!" he said while taking a glass potion bottle out of his pocket.

Harry Potter blinked his eyes open and jumped to his feet. Lucius quickly downed the potion and was gone from sight. An invisibility potion. The portrait door slammed open and then shut. Harry was awaking Ron. Draco was panting on the ground still and Hermione was sobbing hysterically.

Draco staggered up to try to get to Hermione. He stumbled and fell into blackness.

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**A/N- I know a short chapter but I was pretty busy these past two weeks(my birthday I'm 14!), so I didn't have much time to write but I wanted to give you guys an update. Hope you liked, please review. **

**Thanks you guys- **

_Greenday409- thanks for your review. Yeah, I guess she does. ; )_

_Lightning8star- Thanks for your review. I'm glad your hooked haha. _

_Hermione-Leia Skywalker- Potter- that is weird. Thanks for reviewing please review again! I'm glad you like. _

_Zarroc- That's how it goes. Only I know how far they will eventually go. ; )Thanks for your reviewing, and I love to read so I do it a lot. _

**Btw, if anyone cares, I finished my re-reading of HBP and I am going to re-read the whole series book 1- 6. Yay!**

**Krista**


	12. Taking the Risk

_Disclaimer- Don't own it...ok I think you guys get it by now. _

**A/n-Thanks for your reviews guys! The regular stuff is at the bottom… Hope you like the chapter!**

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Taking the Risk

Draco slowly blinked his eyes open to reveal a large white room. He was lying in a soft bed with linen and he was very comfortable. His head ached. He tried to sit up slowly and he looked around.

Madam Pomfrey bustled over to him and gave him a potion, which he drank automatically. His headache subsided.

"Better?" Madam Pomfrey asked curiously.

"Yes," he said dully. He wanted to get up and find Hermione. "Has anyone stopped by? How long have I been here?"

"A few hours. Yes, Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter were by during break to see you. I told them I would notify them if you were awake. I'll be right back dear." And she stalked off in the direction of her office. He leaned back down in the bed and ran over his thoughts in his head.

So, Lucius had to show his stupid, racist face. Great, Draco thought bitterly. Stupid Parkinson, I'll kill her. Doesn't Dumbledore's spells work at all? How did he get in here undetected? I will have a chat with him, I will.

Meanwhile, another thought forced entry into his head. What does this mean for me and Hermione? Lucius knows and is possible dangerous. He probably would have finished her tonight and maybe him also. And the Dark Lord, oh god, not him. He would want revenge, Draco knew it. How could Draco protect himself and Hermione?

A sudden noise distracted him as the hospital wing doors flew open and Hermione dashed in, followed by a seriously disgruntled Harry. Hermione almost ran to his bedside and when she did reach there, she placed a delicate kiss on his lips.

"Are you alright? You gave Harry, Ron and I quite a scare Draco!" she said sympathetically.

"Give you a scare? Definitely. Give Potter a scare? Perhaps. Give Weasley a scare? Definitely not. Weasley was probably hoping for a long term illness," he spat angrily. Hermione's facial expression changed to that of anger.

"Draco, don't start," she pleaded. Draco sighed.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know, you passed out after...after…after he left," she said, her tone wavering. Her eyes were close to tears. Lucius had really scared her, I'll kill him!

He hugged her gently and whispered into her ear, "Everything is going to be alright, I promise. I would never let him hurt you. Ever." He was more promising himself than promising her.

She sobbed. Draco awkwardly patted her on the back. And still she sobbed.

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"Hermione?" Draco whispered through the dark night. "Hermione, you awake?"

"Mmm?" she said sleepily. This is stupid, Draco thought to himself. "Lumos," he muttered. Using the light he guided himself towards Hermione's bed.

"Hermione, wake up," he said as he gently shook her small body. She blinked her eyes open.

"Whassamatter?" she asked, yawning and turning over to look at Draco more clearly.

"I couldn't sleep," he said, and even as he said it, he knew he was making a fool of himself. Why had he woken her up?

"Oh really? What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. "Did you have a nightmare?" she teased.

"My life is a nightmare, 'Mione."

"And I'm the monster right?" she asked and laughed at her own joke. Draco cracked a smile.

"No. You're the…the princess in those Muggle stories." Hermione laughed and lit the candles by her bed.

"Seriously Draco, what's wrong?"

"My father is the problem," he said and Hermione twitched and looked away.

"I don't want to talk about that," she said simply.

"We have to eventually. I can't live without telling you this. Listen to me Hermione!' he yelled at her, roughly turning her head back towards him. She looked scared. "I'm sorry…" he mumbled and let go of her. He took a deep breath. "Please, we need to talk."

"I'm listening," she said impatiently. Draco sighed.

"I don't think we can date anymore," he said and she gasped. "No really Hermione, I really like you and all but my father is dangerous. And he'll come after you, and I couldn't stand that. We can't…we can't…" he mumbled. Draco Malfoy had never cried before, but here he was and the tears were forming in his eyes.

"No…please…" Hermione said, sobbing hard.

"We have to. I'm not worth it Hermione, I don't deserve you! Just…just stay the hell out of my life!" he screamed and ran out of her room, slamming the door behind him. He found a way onto his bed and curled up.

He had no idea what to do, he was lost. He had just lost the only thing in his life that was left. The only _good_ thing left. He didn't know how long he lay there, but he did know something. Draco Malfoy cried himself to sleep.

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Potter. Where's Potter? Draco Malfoy was searching around the Great Hall looking for Harry frantically. It had already been a week and Draco had mainly avoided Hermione. She had made obvious attempts to try and talk with him, reason with him, but he had walked away.

Harry Potter was standing a few feet behind him and finally Draco spotted him. He grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Wha?" Harry said but Draco silenced him and beckoned him to follow.

"What do you want?" he asked angrily. Today was Saturday and Draco knew he had time to explain.

"Not here, in my common room. Come on," he urged Harry and led him into his secluded Heads' common room.

"Sit," Draco ordered as they entered the common room, and surprisingly Harry listened. Draco lit the fireplace and sat down opposite Harry.

"_What?_" Harry stressed to Draco. Draco gave a long sigh and a hard look to Harry.

"We have to talk, about me and Hermione," he said and leaned back.

"There is no you and Hermione. You broke up with her, do you remember? And she's been crying herself to sleep every night."

"I know, but…but I had to do Harry. You know I had too!"

"You didn't have to do anything of the sort. She's miserable!"

"Let me explain. In the spring, I'll be taking my oath to the Dark Lord's inner circle. My father has promised me to do so, and I mean I don't want to but there's no arguing with him. And I have to marry Pansy, because of the stupid pureblood line. You know my father's views of Muggleborns, and he knows about me and Hermione. I'm afraid he'll hurt her if we continue to date. He can hurt me but not her. And I can't deal without her, but she's safer this way."

"Believe me Malfoy; she can take care of herself. Don't do this to her, it's really killing her inside," Harry said slowly.

"But what can I do about it! He's going to come back, Potter, and check up on me!" he paused when he heard the portrait door open. He lowered his voice quickly and said, "What if he hurts her?"

"It's nothing more than what you did to her," he said and got up. Draco got up too and looked over at the door where Hermione stood, frozen.

"What are you two talking about?" she asked cautiously.

"Nothing. Malfoy here wants to talk to you though, why don't you guys sit and talk," Harry said casually as Malfoy began shaking his head violently in his direction but when he saw Hermione's sad face, he stopped and gestured her over.

He lay down the couch and she came over and stood before him. She finally moved and laid down next to him, against him, and put her head on his strong chest. Her eyes dissolved into wetness as she began to cry.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear softly. She looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears, and gave a half-smile.

"You don't have to be. I…I understand why we can't do this, I just wish we could…"she said.

"No, I'm being selfish. I should have asked you something. Can I ask you something?" Draco said, barely audible.

"What is it?"

"We can stay together and take the risk. If you w-want to, then we can risk it…"

"What do you mean, risk it?"

"Well, Lucius may come and try to h-hurt you. That's why I broke up with you in the first place; if we aren't together he'll leave you alone. But I can't live without you, and if you want we can try to stay together. Dumbledore might help us…" he said slowly. Hermione smiled.

"How could you ever think I would say no to something like that? I've been…" she started to say but stopped. Draco finished for her.

"Crying yourself to sleep a night. Because of me. I…can't believe it." She gave a nervous laugh.

"I have never felt this way about anybody before. And to think, I'm in love with Draco Malfoy…" she said more to herself than to Draco.

"L-love?" Draco stammered. He had never thought about love before. It has always been shag the girl then dump her. But Hermione…well for one he had never shagged her, though he wouldn't mind it, and well he didn't understand love. "Yeah, love," he finished lamely.

"I shouldn't have said that…"

"If you mean it then say it. I like honesty. But let me be honest with you Hermione, I don't really understand love yet. But I there's definitely something about you that I just…just really like about you…"

"Yeah…"

"Hermione," Draco said suddenly," we can't do this! He'll find out, he'll kill me, he'll kill you. No…why is this so damn hard!" He grabbed the candle on the table and whipped it across the room. The candle fell out and the carpet burst into flame. The candle holder shattered into pieces. Hermione shrieked and whipped out her wand; Draco did the same.

Both of them put the flames out with their wand and Draco restored the room with a lazy flick of his wrist. Hermione hugged him for support and cried a little. "Please…" she muttered, "let's just try? For me?"

Draco couldn't bear to see her face and he looked away. His heart was telling him that he should do it, say yes, but his head was firmly telling him no. "Ok," he finally said, "One week, and we see Dumbledore today. If he shows up, even once, we quit, got it?"

She nodded and let go on him, collapsing on the couch. "You know what we haven't done in awhile?" she said in a seductive manner. Draco moved closer to her.

"Yes, I do. I definitely miss this," he said leaning closer and lying on top of her, kissing her desperately on the lips. She deepened the kiss, pleading for him, and he put his tongue into her mouth, reuniting himself with her mouth. He had successfully taken off her shirt and was in the mood for some fun.

He allowed her to lure his tongue back into her mouth again, and he moved his hands down to her pants. He began to un-button her jeans when her hands stopped him. His heart sunk. She looked him straight in the eye and said, "No Draco, I'm definitely not ready. We aren't shagging until this whole thing with your father is over…"

Draco rolled his eyes and re-buttoned her pants. He handed her shirt back to her and she put it on. He tried to fix his hair but figured he could take a shower. "Fine," he said shortly and stood up.

"Fancy a swim?" he asked her.

"No."

"Come on, this time we don't have to wear clothes," he said in a suggesting tone.

"Draco, I said no. Go and take a shower and I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" she said in a bored tone.

"No, I'll see you tonight. My room?" he said and laughed. She scowled and threw a pillow at him.

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"We have to stop," Draco said to Hermione as he broke their kiss and rolled off of her. Hermione looked at him curiously as he pulled out his books for school.

"You're ditching me for your schoolwork? I'm insulted!" she said and laughed. "We may not be able to do this for much longer you know…if…"she stopped.

"Not ditching, I'm working, and you should too. I don't want your grades lowering because I can't resist myself," he said as he leaned in for one more kiss. "And," he said and he leaned back over his parchment, "you're right, but I can't believe your already thinking about that, it's been a day since we got back together and you're already thinking of breaking up with me."

"I would never think of such a thing, but you know it's a possibility…" Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, one I would rather not think about right now. And speaking of that, I still haven't beaten the-"he started to say but Hermione cut him off.

"No, you can't beat up Pansy, Draco."

"She sold us out, this is all her fault!" he complained.

"I know, but you're Head Boy, you can't beat up other students! And you could get expelled if you do that, what would I do without you?" she explained and put on a puppy dog face. Draco sighed and laughed at her. He slammed his book closed and got up.

"I'm going to talk to her," he announced and headed towards the portrait door. A hand grabbed his arm.

"I'm coming with you," Hermione whispered and let go of Draco.

"You can't…She's in the common room, you can't go on there," he said slowly.

"I can take care of myself Draco," she said easily and led the way.

"I know, that isn't it though."

"What is it then?" she asked and stopped in the middle of the hallways.

"The common room doesn't let muggleborns in…" he murmured. Her face dropped. "I'm sorry…"

"It's ok, you didn't make that rule. Be careful, ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Draco walked slowly down the hallways to the Great Hall. Dinner has just ended and kids were milling around the entrance hall saying goodbyes or heading back to their common room. "Move along, let's go. Outta my way!" Draco called around and parted the crowd. He headed straight down to the Slytherin common room. He hadn't been there since last year.

He said the password and walked in. People saw him or turned to stare at him. A long silence followed. Blaise Zambini decided to break the silence, "Hey, Draco buddy!" he called and grabbed him and pulled him into the room.

A babble broke out again and Blaise sat down on the couch that had once been Draco's. Draco motioned him to move and he did so, sitting on one of the armchairs instead.

"Still got respect around here Draco and it ain't just me. Heard 'bout your dad visiting you, eh?"

"Oh, yeah. I thought you guys would be...a bit upset at me. But everyone seems normal…"

"It's your business who you shag, I don't really care that much. A mudblood though man, I think we need a chat eh?" he said as a side note. Draco's anger mounted on top of that he had for Pansy.

"First of all," he growled, "she isn't just a shag. And second, don't call her a mudblood, got it?" Blaise cowered under Draco's rage and bit back his retort.

"Ok, man, but I mean, you have to tell me, what's she like in bed?" he asked and raised his eyebrows.

"I don't know yet. We haven't…she isn't ready, alright Zambini?"

"Then what are you with her for? You can't actually like her, can you?" he asked and laughed.

"Grow up, Zambini. What are you going to do about it, tell my daddy like Parkinson did?"

"No way man, she's just jealous because she isn't your toy anymore. But, I have something to ask you…" he said and lowered his voice. "You still joining…him?"

Draco now had a problem. He definitely wasn't going to join the Dark Lord by choice, but if he told Blaise that, he may tell somebody. Still, Blaise was one of his best friends…

"Not if I can help it," he said simply. Blaise looked at him and gave a sigh of relief.

"Can you help me get out of it too, man? My father man, he wants me in. I mean, he's not a death eater but he wants me to become one. And I'm…I'm scared Draco. What do I do?" he whispered.

"Talk to Dumbledore, man. That's what I did. Hermione put it up to me."

"I'll do that, but you have got to tell me about this mudblood. What's she like, mate?"

"Don't call her a mudblood."

"Fine, tell me about Granger," he said.

"Well…"

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**A/n- Hope the chapter was long enough. Sorry the update took a long time, but I've been busy getting songs onto my iPod mini. I want reviews, please! I have 30 now!**

**Reviewers, thanks:**

_Mistressofmiddleearth- Thanks for both reviews! I really appreciate it. I'm glad you like my story and think its 'cute'. _

_Zarroc- Muahaha the Lucius plot. So fun to write…Hope you liked the chapter, keep reviewing. Thanks!_

_Ohyeah100- I see Hermione as always being the intellectual one of the trio; Harry being the strong one, and Ron being the loyal one. Yet Hermione never shows her emotional side because we've never REALLY seen her in a relationship. With my fic I wanted people to see that girls' really do carefully consider things and they do cry when they get emotional. Small things in a relationship can make girls cry, it's just how we process. As the story progresses, you'll see less of Hermione crying and her stronger side. Thanks for your review. _

_Soccerpixie3000- thanks for the birthday greetings. Happy birthday also! I actually don't have too many reviews, you're the 30th reviewer! Thanks so much!_

**Read and Review guys, thanks! Krista**


	13. Of Those Three Words

_Disclaimer- Same old thing, not my story…_

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Of Those Three Words

"She seems pretty cool, for a Gryffindor…" Blaise said uneasily. Draco smirked at him and glanced around the common room. He was home again, he truly was. Draco and Blaise talked about quidditch as people came over to say hey to Draco and Blaise. Some fifth year students added to their conversation and soon there was a group in the common room.

"Hey Blaise," Draco whispered to Blaise when there was a break in their conversation, "where's Parkinson?"

"Can't believe she didn't get expelled," he said, shaking his head, "but she's over there," he said pointing over to the corner. Draco nodded and excused himself. Pansy saw him and tried to edge her way upstairs to her dormitory, but Draco grabbed her shirt collar and pulled her towards him. He resisted the strong temptation to punch the daylights out of her and let me go, breathing hard.

"Parkinson," he growled. She cowered slightly in his shadow.

"Y-yes Draco?" she said slowly, shaking in his wake.

"Must you ruin everything for me? Do you want me happy or sad? My life is a hell hole as it is, can't you just let me have a little fun in my life?" he screamed at her. Several people looked over to them but turned back to their conversations. Pansy looked like she had been slapped.

"I didn't know Draco…she doesn't…she can't…" she stuttered.

"She can't what, Parkinson?" said Draco with a sharp look in his eye.

"She can't mean that much to you…you two live in the same dormitory, I thought she was just a shag Draco."

"She isn't like you, Pansy. Don't ruin things for me; my life is bad enough as it is. Got it? Just leave me be and maybe I'll forgive you."

"I'm not expelled you know. Snape got me out of it," she said slowly.

"Well Pansy my slippery friend, you have detention with me for the rest of the year. Starting tonight, let's go." Draco nodded to her and she followed him out of the common room. He led her up the staircases and through the hallways to his common room. Hermione looked up at him and scowled as Pansy walked into the room.

"Sit," Draco ordered. Pansy sat down and Draco summoned a quill, ink and parchment from his desk. It slid across the table and landed in front of Pansy. She stared at it.

"What is she doing here?" Hermione spat at him.

"Well since we don't shag I brought her here instead," he said and laughed at the look on her face. He sat down and put his arm around her waist and moved her chin towards his. She kissed him and he kissed her back. Pansy gave a snort of disgust.

"Shut it Parkinson," he replied dryly as he broke their kiss.

"How do you expect me to concentrate when you two are snogging on your couch? And I don't even know what I'm supposed to be writing Draco," she snapped at him. Hermione gave a pout and leaned back on the couch.

"You'll be writing an apology letter to Hermione here, and it better be good, or I'll make you take your detentions with Snape," he said and laughed as she shuddered. She shot him a scowl and dipped her quill in ink and began to write. She kept looking up and shooting him nasty glances, which Draco shrugged off.

After a while with them all sitting there quietly, Pansy broke the silence. "You could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife Draco," she said and laughed. Draco smirked at her and laid Hermione down on the couch and kissed her. She responded eagerly, jamming her tongue into his mouth.

"Ugh, get a room!" Pansy shrieked and shielded her eyes. Hermione laughed and pushed Draco off of her and took his hand in hers.

"Fine, we will. Stay here _Pansy_ or I think Draco will have some trust issues," she said in a sweet voice and led Draco towards her bedroom door. Draco gave Pansy a look and closed the door behind him. Hermione was already climbing the stairs when Draco caught up, wrapped his arms around her waist and pushed her gently into the wall. She smiled as he slid his tongue into her mouth.

Hermione pushed him off a bit and he stumbled. "What happened to getting a room? We don't need the stairs, we have my bed…"

"As good as that sounds, I couldn't help myself. And we can't leave her there alone, you don't know her."

"Is she going to ruin all of our nights Draco?"

"Of course not, I can cancel some of hers and I'll get us out of them. And you can hang out with Harry and Ron and Ginny during her detentions if you want," he said sweetly.

"And leave you here alone with her?"

"You can trust me," he said firmly. His eyes were sharp yet sad looking at the same time. Hermione took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Ok, I know I can trust you," she said finally.

"Glad to hear it," he said and walked out the door, leaving Hermione standing there.

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"You didn't listen to me Draco," Lucius said while adjusting his grip on Draco's tie. He flipped his wand in his hand cautiously and aimed it lazily at Draco. He cleared his throat, waiting for a reply.

"Did you expect me too?" Draco said nastily. His father's smirk slid of his would-be handsome features if he hadn't been on the run for 3 months.

"Don't be a fool boy," he growled dangerously. "You are in no position to bargain." Which was quite true; Draco's current situation was not good. His wand lay on the ground yards away from him, and he didn't think he could get to it. Lucius' grip was getting tighter.

"Let me go Father. What would your master think if you strangled me to death?" Draco said calmly and watched as the effects of his words hit his father. "Or has it not occurred to you that if you fail in bringing me to him he has no purpose for you," Draco added as an after thought. Lucius threw his away from his grip and aimed his wand at Draco in a threatening manner.

"You wouldn't dare kill your own son, don't be foolish," Draco said. He had his father in this one; Lucius was in such a dire situation with the Dark Lord it would be impossible for him to make a mistake and get away with it.

"You have befouled are family name, you are no son of mine!" he spat at Draco.

"Then disown me and get it over with it!" Draco retorted back, and realized the full effects of his words. His father smiled nastily as Draco's manner faltered.

"You don't want that do you boy? Where would you go? To the mudblood?" Lucius said and Draco knew that that statement was far below the belt.

"We aren't talking about Hermione, keep her out of it! This is about me. You leave her alone!"

"No, no Draco. A young man like yourself doesn't want to ruin your life. I understand you have feelings for this girl, but we are past that. Parkinson is a much worthier choice, don't you understand!" he said angrily and cursed at his rising temper.

"I said let her alone!" Draco screamed and dove at his father and knocked him backward, knocking his wand out of his hand and pinning him to the ground. "Leave her out of this," he growled at his father, punching him straight in the gut. His father gave an 'oomph' and laid back slowly.

Draco climbed around his father and grabbed his wand off the ground and readied himself for an oncoming fight that was bound to happen. His father stirred and picked himself up off the ground.

"This conversation will continue Draco," he said simply as he grabbed his wand as well, "you will be a death eater and you will dump that mudblood."

"I look forward to it," Draco said sarcastically and walked down the streets of Hogmeade, his back on his father. It was almost 12 p.m. and if he was caught out of his bed at this hour he would be in a lot of trouble. He would also have a lot to explain.

He trudged back up the hills to the castle and through the grand doors. He traced his familiar path back to his room and walked in, where he immediately saw Hermione dozing on the couch and sighed in relief. She shook suddenly awake and noticed Draco and got up and hugged him.

"I was so worried, you never came back from Hogmeade, and I didn't know what happened! Where were you?" she said very fast.

"I met my father on the way back," he said casually. He kicked off his shoes and threw his cloak on the ground and collapsed into his armchair.

"No!" Hermione yelled and got a sad look in her eye. She looked at Draco and then looked away.

"We can't Hermione, you promised," he said easily. Man, he hated to see her sad, but she knew as well as him this was out of hand now. He liked her so much but they couldn't do it.

"Everything has been going so good Draco, Harry and Ron both trust you now, Pansy is less…attached and the school is used to us now. Your father will croak eventually won't he?" she said hopefully. It was true, Voldemort may kill him if Draco could get out of the death eater thing.

"I know…Let me talk with Dumbledore then we can talk later ok? For now…we're just taking a break. No dating Weasel."

"I'm not going to date Ron, I like you Draco," she sad in a sad tone. Draco ran a hand through his hair and sat down and put his head in his hands.

"Go to bed now, Hermione, I'll handle it," he said firmly and looked away from her.

"You can't boss me around Draco," she said back to him. He looked over to her, rolled his eyes and stood up. She twitched and backed up.

"Stop it, I'm not going to hurt you, don't be thick, I would never," he said. That really offended him, that she thought he would actually hit her.

"I'm going to bed, I'll see you in the morning," she said and kissed him on the cheek. Draco was taken back.

"We aren't dating…you can't do that…"

"Whatever," she said and left the room. Draco got up and paced the room and left the room. He headed straight for the Gryffindor common room. He said the password to their portrait (the Heads know all the houses' passwords) and entered it. Being 1 a.m. he was surprised that there were still people awake but there was. A few heads turned and faces turned to scowls. Draco shrugged them off and walked over to the corner of the common room where a certain red head was chatting animatedly to a group of girls.

"Weasley," he acknowledged and beckoned her over. Her friends continued to talk as she got up and crossed the room over to Draco.

"What? Is Hermione alright?" she asked and Draco rolled his eyes.

"Depends, can you get me Potter's invisibility cloak?"

"Yeah…hold on…" she said uneasily and ran up the staircase across the room. Draco tapped his foot impatiently while he waited. Potter and Ginny came back down; Potter was holding a silver-like cloak in his left hand, his wand in his left.

"What do you need it for?" he asked. Nosy little bugger he was.

"To speak to Dumbledore, I'm not crossing the castle without that cloak," he said and extended his hand for it. Harry handed it over and Draco was just about to throw it over himself as Hermione burst into the room.

"Hey Ginny can I crash here with you to-" she started to say but stopped when she noticed Draco, mid-motion of putting on the invisibility cloak. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing…I…I'll come back and get you later when I come back," he said and threw the cloak around him and disappeared. The portrait door opened and then slammed closed as Hermione whipped her head around. She let out a sigh.

"Did you guys have a fight? I'll kick his ass!" Harry said hotly.

"We broke up, just be quiet and I'll tell you about it!" she hissed.

"You guys broke up?" Ginny said quickly. Hermione rolled her eyes and slouched into an armchair.

"We're taking a break, while he figured out things with his father," she said ignoring the look Ginny was giving her," Look guys, you know we can't do this while his father is on the loose. I can wait for him…"

"You can't wait forever, come on 'Mione, just get over him. He isn't ready for a serious relationship with you," Harry reasoned with her. But she would not be reasoned with.

"You don't understand, he's trying Harry! If it wasn't for his father we probably would have-" she stopped.

"Yes?" Harry asked out of instinct. Ginny looked at her and Hermione suddenly looked nervous. Her cheeks were tinged with red spots.

"Nothing. The point is, it's his father's fault, not his, and he's trying to make it work. He's going to talk to Dumbledore, that's where he went, and I mean he'll sort everything out. I can't leave him. I…I love him."

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Draco sat on the couch in the common room, Hermione leaning against him. He was debating on whether or not to tell her what he heard in the common room. Yes, he had feigned leaving and listened to their conversation. He wasn't sure if she would be mad or not.

"Hey, Hermione," he said and shook her awake.

"Yeah?" she said wearily. She had fallen on top on him as soon as they had entered the common room and Draco still hadn't told her what Dumbledore had told him. He had been too tired. "What Draco?"

Draco just realized he had been in a trance like state. "Oh, umm, I heard you earlier, what you said in the common room," he blurted out. She didn't even look away, just sort of shrugged it off.

"I didn't think you had left. I meant what I said. About loving you."

"I know you do. I just-" he said but Hermione was already on top of him, with her tongue in his mouth and her shirt half way off. For awhile they made out of the couch and finally, realizing the time, broke off and collapsed. Draco was lying on top of her and both of their shirts lay on the ground. Hermione's hair was a mess but Draco couldn't stop himself in thinking she looked beautiful.

"I love you," he whispered against her neck. She looked him straight in eye and gave a half smile.

"I love you too."

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**A/n- Sorry about the long wait for the chapter, but I hope you thought it was good. Just to let you all know, I start school in 15 days but I hope to get 2 more updates up before then. I will still write but not as often so it might be longer for an update. **

**I am also debating on whether or not to start a new story; I got a really good idea while I was lying in bed sick one day. If I do start a new one, I will continue this one. This one will involve Draco and Hermione but it will also be a time travel piece. I will tell you guys if I start it up. **

**Please read and review. **

**Reviews!**

_Gipsy- Glad you like, and I understood you. Your English is fine. Hope you liked this chapter, please review again!_

_BlackOwl892006- I'm sorry I made you cry. Here's the next chapter, glad you like my story! Review please! _

_Soccerpixie3000- Here's your update, a little longer than expected, sorry. Thanks for your review, do it again! _

**Thanks everyone. !Krista!**


	14. Some Preparation

_Disclaimer- Don't own it…I think you guys get it by now. _

**A/n- Ok, so I hope this up fast enough for everyone. I had a lot of time to write and I am having a good time doing it. But, if you would, let me wander for a moment or two. My next story is up, same pen name, and it's called Stranded in Time. It's a time travel piece and it's going to end up being Hermione and Draco. It's the first chapter/intro, so please read and review if you could. I would really appreciate it. **

**Ok, here's the next chapter of Enemies Clash. **

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Some Preparation

One refreshing sleep later and Draco woke up in a cheerful mood. It might have something to do with Hermione sleeping next to him, almost completely naked, or maybe the fact that she had said she loved him. And he had said it back.

Ok, so it would have been perfect if they had shagged at the end, but she stopped him. He was a bit frustrated with her but he didn't want to be. He stretched and awoke Hermione by accident. She yawned and turned to look at him. They were sleeping in his bed and she looked wearily around at the green décor. She blinked tiredly.

"Sorry about that," Draco said as he swung his legs out of bed, to reveal his bare chest. Hermione had a dreamy look in her eye and Draco took the time to pounce on top of her. She laughed and kicked until he got off of her.

"Last night was…" she said in a dreamy voice.

"Incomplete?" Draco suggested in a bored tone. Hermione hung her head and put it in her hands.

"I know you're impatient but I'm not ready," she said finally.

"I'm not impatient!" he said in an unconvincing tone. Hermione have him a look that clearly said 'oh please'. "Ok, a little bit."

"A little bit, right," she said and laughed nervously. Draco rolled on top of her and put his arms on both side of her, propping him up.

"I'm not pressuring you, but I want you so bad," he whispered in her ear. He sucked on her collarbone for a minute and she moaned and slapped him away.

"Stop it, we have classes," she said, flipping him over and kissing him. Then she jumped off him, and noticing how she was barely dressed, ran into the bathroom and slammed the door closed. Draco sighed and got up. He grabbed a set of robes and put them on quickly, checking his hair in the mirror. He grabbed socks and shoes and got them on, grabbed his schoolbag, and went downstairs.

He waited awhile for Hermione to come down and when she didn't, he went to get her. He knocked on her door twice with no answer. Finally, he opened the door and peered in. His breath caught in his chest as his eyes took in the sight before him.

Hermione was lying on the floor, blood dripping from a cut on the side of her head. Her bed sheets were ruffled and her night side table was over turned. There was already blood staining the floor.

Draco ran over to Hermione quickly and checked her pulse; she was still breathing! He picked her up in his arms and was surprised to see she fit comfortably in them. He ran down the stairs and while he was running he used a healing spell on the cut on her head. She was very light and he reached the hospital wing in record time.

He burst through the door and laid her on a bed and ran to fetch Madam Pomfrey. He ran and skidded to a stop in front of her door and pounded on it. She opened it wearily, and noticing the panicked look on his face, quickly straightened up.

"What's wrong?" she asked feverishly.

"Hermione, she's…hurt…I don't know, come on…" he said in between breaths. Madam Pomfrey ran over to the bed Hermione was at and began using various healing spells and checking for injuries. Draco stood in the shadows and watched anxiously. Finally Madam Pomfrey turned around and looked at Draco.

"She has a concussion. She will be fine, but she's in a deep sleep and I can't seem to wake her up," she said and glanced at Hermione, who wasn't moving. "Don't worry, she will wake up, I just don't know when," she added when she saw Draco's face.

"Ok, then, I'll wait here with her, all day if I have to," he said and sat down on the chair by her bed. Madam Pomfrey chuckled and muttered something about young love and exited the room.

Draco sat down and looked at her face, holding her hand. But, struck by a sudden idea, he stood up and stalked over to Madam Pomfrey's office. After talking to her for awhile, she handed him a note and left. Not only would this note get him out of classes, it also explained what happened to Hermione to the teachers. But he had something else in mind.

He headed to, not Snape's office, but to his first class, which was Charms. He didn't bother knocking but walked straight up to the teacher's desk and handed him the note. Professor Flitwick simply nodded and said, "Very well."

"I was also asked, though it's not included in the note, to bring Harry Potter and Ron Weasley to see her, if that's alright."

"Of course, of course. Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, will you please join Mr. Malfoy. Ok class let's resume please!" he squeaked.

Harry and Ron got up slowly and gathered their things, finally stepping out of the class to join Draco, who was in the hallway waiting for them.

"Where are you taking us?" Ron asked as Draco started to move.

"To get your sister," he said simply and stopped outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and walked inside. Snape was teaching it as well this year, and when he saw Draco he grabbed him and pulled him inside.

"What are you doing outside of class to talk to me?" he hissed in his ear.

Draco chuckled and said, "Don't flatter yourself so much, I need Ginny Weasley," he said and thrust the note inside into his hand. He waved his hand and Draco went to grab her. He tapped her on the shoulder and she looked around and spotted Draco.

"What?" she said obviously annoyed.

"Just follow me weaselette, let's go," he said and she packed up her things and followed him. When they got into the hallway, she exchanged confused looks with Harry and Ron, but they just shrugged.

"You guys are idiots. Who's missing from this picture?" he asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Hermione," they said in unison. Draco clapped and began walking back to the hospital wing.

"What happened to her, we're on the way to the hospital wing, I know we are. What did you do to her?" Ginny asked suspiciously. Draco wheeled around, eyes a fiery red.

"What is wrong with everyone? Why does everyone think I would hurt her! I came and got you guys from your classes to see her, I didn't have to, be a little grateful would you?" he said and stormed in front of them all. Harry ran to catch up.

"We're sorry, ok, Ginny just jumped to conclusions. What happened?" he asked.

Draco wheeled around, his eyes now sad with regret and concern, and looked Harry in the eye. "My father happened. He isn't too happy with me."

"Your father did this to her?" Harry said as they entered the hospital wing and he looked at Hermione. "Why are you screwing up her life?"

"As much as I want to protect her, there's only one way and I can't do it and neither can she…"

"What are you saying, she'd rather get beaten by your father than protect herself?"

"If it involves us breaking up, then yes," said a sudden voice. The group wheeled around to see Hermione sitting up and blinking against the light.

"Hermione, you have a bloody concussion because of this man's crazy father, and you refuse to break up with him?" Ron said.

"Can we talk about this somewhere else, like our common room?" Draco asked them and they all agreed. Hermione was dismissed from the hospital wing and they all walked into the Heads' common room. After they had all sat down and Draco had forced the house elf that was cleaning to go get them breakfast, they began to chat.

"Ron, I'm not breaking up with Draco," she said and Draco put his arm around her waist protectively. Ron sighed and looked away.

Ginny and Harry kept exchanging nervous looks and finally Harry said, "We have something to tell all of you guys."

Draco laughed and said, "Let me guess, you and weaselette are dating?" Hermione slapped him on the arm and he laughed again. Harry was on his feet, wand pointing at Draco.

"Potter, you wouldn't hurt me, because think of what Hermione would think," he said easily and leaned back against the back of his chair.

"Come on you two, Draco, get along, please," she pleaded. Harry sat back down.

"Yeah, we're dating," he said.

"Cool," Hermione said and looked at Draco. Draco laughed at her expression and at Ron's.

"What do you want Weasel?" he asked jerkily. Ron opened his mouth to retort but Hermione held up a hand.

"Hold on," she said and dragged Draco into the hallway.

"What?" he asked impatiently.

"Remember what I said about me choosing my friends?"

"Yes, quite clearly."

"Well, even though that may not be the case any longer," she said as Draco made a triumphant gesture," I still care about them and you have to get along. I will tell you why later," she said simply and went back into the room. Draco stood there a second, stunned, then followed her.

"So, Malfoy, what is it that you wanted to tell me?" Ron asked with a gleam in his eye.

"Nothing, get out of here, all of you," he said easily and shooed them out of his common room. Hermione stood there with a shocked expression on her face and looked from Draco to the door where her friends had just exited.

"What was that all about?" she said, clearly annoyed.

"Is it a sin to have alone time with my girlfriend?" he asked her.

She laughed and said, "That isn't what this is about, we were alone all night last night. What do you want, Draco?"

"Did you know that we've been together for, like, three months? It's almost Christmas," he said.

"Yeah, I know. Come on, really, what's this about?"

"You see through everything don't you? Ok, ok. I'm curious, why do I have to get along with the Golden Boys?"

Hermione gave him a piercing look but settled herself on the couch next to him anyways. "Don't call them that, and it's really important to me. Christmas is coming, like you said, and…"

"And what Hermione?" he said quickly.

"I want to spend it with you. And we can't stay at your place, and you can't stay at mine. So…" she said but Draco cut her off.

"I understand you can't stay at my place but why not yours?"

"Because I'm staying with Ron and Harry at Ron's house," she said and noticing Draco's look, she looked away.

"What about you spending it with me?" he shot at her angrily.

"Calm down, please. I do, and this is why. You want to be with me, don't you, and I don't mean just for Christmas. This is my life Draco, and if you want to be a part of it, then you have to understand why I want you to do this," she said calmly.

"So, you want me to get along with Potter and Weasley so we can all spend Christmas together?" he said, reading between the lines.

"This means so much to me Draco, please," she begged.

"Alright, alright. I'll do it," he said and smiled at her instant reaction. She threw herself on him and hugged him tightly. Then she planted a kiss on his lips and said, "I love you so much."

"I love you too," he said quietly. He looked away from her eyes that were full to the brim with happiness.

"Ok, something's wrong. If you don't want to do it, you don't have to," she said and lied down against his chest.

"It's not that I don't want to do it, I just want to be able to spend time alone with you," he said and breathed out slowly.

"We will, I talked to Ginny and she said that she would take the spare bedroom and you and I will stay in hers. There are two beds," she added.

"Damn," he cursed. Hermione laughed.

"Draco, we can't do it in their house you perverted-" she said but her cut her off again.

"Does this mean we can do _it_?" he said, stressing the 'it' part.

She ran her hand through her messy hair and turned around to face him. "Maybe," she said. "After the holidays," she added as she saw his elated face.

"Seriously?"

"When do I ever lie to you?"

"Never," he said and kissed her gently.

"And you will use a-" she said but he finished for her.

"Yes, of course I will."

"Good, because I really don't feel like dropping out of school to have a baby," she said and climbed on top of him. He kissed her and moved his lips to her neck and sucked on it for awhile. She began to take off his shirt and whispered, "Some preparation." Draco laughed and flipped her over and unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it off.

Unfortunately, as these things often happen, the door opened to reveal Ginny Weasley. She laughed again and said, "Get your shirts on." Her eyes were closed as they both threw on their shirts and stood up, disheveled a little, but perfectly fine. Hermione had flushed cheeks but they faded after awhile.

"Ok, so some preparation, huh Hermione?"

"That's what I said…" she said and they all laughed.

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**A/n- Ok, had some major writer's block but with a bit of music and a quiet house I got it done. Here's the thing: I have another story to update as well, and school starts September 6th. I will try to update both stories before that or by that Friday. Schedule will be tight as I'm starting my freshman year and I have to adjust. Hope you guys liked this chapter and I'll be updating my other story soon. **

**Reviews! Wow!**

_Soccerpixie3000- Yeah that one did take longer. I think this one was a little faster. Thanks for your review and I'm glad you checked out my other story! _

_Mistressofmiddleearth- Here's your update. I know, Draco is so evil. In a good way, haha. Thanks. _

_BlackOwl892006- Very cute. And yes, Lucius is an evil little bugger. I'm happy you reviewed and that you checked out my other story, you rock! _

_Gipsy- Thanks for your review!_

_Sexydraco- Thanks for your review, I'm glad you like. By the way, yes, Draco is very sexy. wink_

**Interruption as phone rings Ok, well please review this chapter, as always they are helpful! Hope to see you guys soon! **

**Krista**


	15. Christmas

_Disclaimer- you know it, don't own it. _

**A/n- Welcome back to Enemies Clash, chapter 15! Christmas chapter, regular stuff at the bottom. **

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"Draco, are you ready to go?" Hermione asked as she entered Draco's messy room. She glanced around and saw his trunk open and half full with possessions. Draco himself was sitting on his bed, a letter in one hand and his other hand sifting through his hair.

Draco looked up at Hermione in disbelief and finally put the letter down. "What's wrong?" she asked cautiously.

"See for yourself," he said and handed over the letter which was from his father. Draco looked over her shoulder and read the letter as Hermione did.

_Draco- _

_Meet me at the Manor December 23rd for a meeting. I figure you have plans with the mudblood, but you can get away for a day or two. You better be there or there will be trouble. _

_L.M. _

Draco tore his eyes away from the letter and met Hermione's. They were sad but forgiving, meaning she understood why he had to do this.

"I don't want to leave," he said. "But…"

"Save it Draco. How convenient, a letter arrives from your father the day we leave so you can go home instead," she said nastily and turned away. Ok, so Draco had read her face totally wrong. How could she think like that?

"Hermione, you know it's not like that! I'll be there for a few, and then apparate back to Ron's house, to be with you. I promise."

"Oh, yeah, and come back as a death eater? What the hell are you thinking!" she yelled at him.

"I'm sorry, but to protect you I have to do this. He already knows I'm going with you for Christmas, please Hermione, it's for the best. I'm not becoming a death eater," he said calmly and took her hands in his.

She sighed and said, "Alright. You can go, but you better be home for Christmas Eve!"

"I promise, and I also promise you I'll work harder on getting out of the Dark Lord's circle, ok?" he reasoned.

"I don't want to hear about it, just get it done, please. Let's bring our stuff downstairs now, the train will be leaving soon, and we have to get to our compartment," she replied and hovered her trunk in mid air down the stairs. Draco followed her.

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"Move along there, out of the way midgets, Prefects coming through!" Ron called through the crowd. Eventually, 5 students made their way onto the train and up to the front compartments.

"Go in, go in," Draco said, ushering Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny into the Heads' Compartment. He followed them in and shut the door and sat down next to Hermione. They all stared for at each other for awhile, and Draco knew Hermione wanted to tell them where he was going.

"I should go, so you can talk about me," he said and got up and left. He didn't even make it past the next compartment when Hermione's hand grabbed his arm and stopped him. He wheeled around and her lips met his in a passionate kiss. When they broke apart, Hermione smiled and lead him back to the compartment.

"Welcome back," Ron said grumpily. Draco smirked at him and leaned against the compartment wall. Hermione lay between his legs, her head resting against his chest. Draco got bored with the conversation and almost drifted into sleep when he heard his name mentioned.

"He's not coming home with us anymore? My mother is going to be pissed; she got the extra room all ready!" Ron whispered urgently. Hermione giggled and shot Ginny a look. "What?" Ron asked again.

"Ginny is sleeping in the extra room. So me and Draco can share a room…" she said and turned around to look at Draco, and noticing how his eyes were open, she cursed. "Shit, he's awake," she said and Draco laughed and ran his hands through Hermione's hair.

"Go ahead; tell them why I can't come today. I am coming, hate to rain on your parade, Weasley."

"He is going home to see his father," she said and took a deep breath.

"Oh you little-! Get out of the way Hermione!" he yelled, showing Hermione off of Draco and raising his fist, which was instantly grabbed by Ginny. Harry grabbed his jacket and held him back, while he struggled to give Draco a black eye.

"Stop it Ronald!" Hermione yelled and stop he did when hearing his first name being used. "Stop fighting, stop trying to punch him, just stop it right now!"

"All he's done since he dated you is dumped you, made you cry and screwed up your life!"

"No he hasn't! That's all you see because you look right past what's right in front of you! Open your eyes Ron, I'm in love with him!" she yelled and stormed out of the compartment, Ginny in tow behind her.

Ron gaped after her for awhile, then turned to Draco, gave him a look and settled back. Harry sat back next to Ron and gave Draco a look as well. "I'm going to see my father because if I don't then he'll probably try to hurt Hermione," he said and handed Harry the letter from his father.

"A meeting? Does this mean what I think it does?" he asked suspiciously.

"Hopefully not. I'm hoping it's another talk about me continuing the pureblood line or something; I can't deal with death eaters right now."

"Still becoming a death eater? Going to shoot me down are you?" Harry said and they all laughed.

"Oh yeah, Potter, I'm really going to kill you. Like I could, the 'chosen one' they're calling you aren't they?" Draco retorted back and they all laughed again.

"Actually, it's really annoying. I have the Ministry trying to make me their show boy, and people thinking I'm the chosen one. Great for my reputation," he said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "Besides, I have problems at school anyways. It's difficult trying to fight evil and keeping a girlfriend at the same time," he said and sighed. Ron rolled his eyes.

"No, mate, I know what you mean. I'm having the same problem," he said and closed his eyes, picturing a time where he and Hermione had walked by the lake, before they had started to date.

"You and Hermione have worse problems than me. At least her father isn't threatening to kill me," he said sympathetically. Draco glanced at Ron, who seemed on edge.

"Nope, just her brother," Draco said and he laughed nervously. Harry cracked a smile and glanced at Ron.

"Come on Weasley, you haven't said two words the whole time we've been talking. What's wrong?" Draco said, trying to sound helpful and friendly, even though he could have probably wrung Ron's neck right now.

"She loves you?" he said faintly. He connected looks with Draco and glared him down.

"You'll find someone Ron; maybe I'll even help you? I know many eligible ladies myself," Draco said casually.

"Oh my god, Draco, you're so sweet!" Hermione yelled as she ran into the room and hugged Draco tightly. "I told you that you could get along with Harry and Ron if you tried!" Draco smiled faintly through Hermione's arms around his neck.

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"I could have killed her, boy, and you know it," Lucius said swiftly as Draco entered the sitting room and sat down in the chair opposite his father.

"I'm grateful you didn't," Draco said, "but if I could ask, why didn't you?"

"Very simple, boy, very simple. What would you do if I killed her? I already know," he said as Draco already opened his mouth to speak, "and they may be satisfactory reasons for you. But all aside, it's time to chat about the Dark Lord."

"Very well, what about Him?" Draco said quickly and cruelly.

"I understand you have something with this girl, and I don't know why. End it you fool!" he yelled at Draco. Draco's wand whipped out of his pocket as fast as he could.

"No, I love her, you racist bastard! Really, what do you want from me?" he yelled at his stupid father.

"The Dark Lord needs you, boy. This is a crucial situation, don't throw it away. Join the death eaters and I'll leave you and the girl alone."

"I have your word that if I join the death eaters, you'll leave Hermione alone and me alone?" he said, with hesitation. He would never join the death eaters, but as long as Lucius thought so, they were fine.

"An unbreakable vow, shall we?" Lucius said nastily. Draco noticed the ice in his voice; no! This deal was ruined, he couldn't make that vow.

"No, we can't do that. You're endangering yourself with that vow. The Dark Lord can't get wind of this, you fool, and he will know if you do the vow. Then he will know about me dating a muggleborn and my chances to be a death eater are ruined. Be sensible," Draco said and sighed; he had just saved the situation, or so he thought.

"Draco, a serious question my boy. Do you want to be a death eater?"

"No."

"Get out of this house, the deal is off! You will be hearing from me, and not in a good way!" Lucius yelled before he apparated out of his house. Draco sighed and with a crack, he was gone as well.

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"Draco, you're back early!" Hermione said as she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Draco looked around at the messy, a bit run-down house. He sneered at the size of the house, but after seeing Hermione's look, he nodded.

"Yeah, umm, the meeting didn't go so well. I'll tell you later?"

"Yeah, alright. Come on, meet the family." Draco cautiously allowed himself to be dragged into the kitchen, where dinner was being served. A few friendly faces greeted him, the rest were angry and not welcoming.

"Everybody, this is Draco Malfoy, my boyfriend," Hermione said loudly, in a steady manner. Draco nodded to people as they grunted hellos. "Draco, this is Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Percy, Bill, and Charlie," she said and pointed to each of the in turn. "And you obviously know Harry, Ron and Ginny."

"The hell you do, you made fun of them for 6 years," Fred grumbled between eating helpings of kidney pie. Draco eyed him wearily but sat down anyways. Chat broke out once again down the table and Draco and Harry began to argue about the quidditch cup at Hogwarts.

"We haven't played yet," Draco said. "We have a late season, but you guys won against Hufflepuff, right? Now much competition this year, it will all come down to Gryffindor and Slytherin I suppose."

"May the best man win," Harry said and they shook hands, laughing like old friends. That's when Draco realized that Draco had everything he needed and he owed it to Hermione. The only thing left to do was getting rid of his father and they were all set.

As Draco climbed the stairs to his and Hermione's room, he gave thought to his father. Draco realized that the only way to rid himself of all force in his life was to get rid of his father. Well, if that meant killing him, then so be it. Hermione was quickly becoming his life.

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"Draco! Wake up, it's Christmas!" Hermione yelled from downstairs somewhere. Draco groaned and rolled over in his bed. He glanced at his clock and groaned again.

"It's also the bloody crack of dawn!" he yelled back at her, but got up nonetheless. He chose some green and scarlet robes that he had got yesterday at Hogsmeade and put them on. Festive cheer, Hermione had called it. Draco called it a mix between Slytherin and Gryffindor colors. Of course, he was in a house where everyone had been in Gryffindor. He shuddered at the thought.

He trudged down the stairs grumpily. He really didn't like Christmas, and why would this year be any different. When he entered the living room, there was a giant Christmas tree, gleaming with lights and ornaments, and there was one in the middle that caught his eye. He walked closer and saw what it said, _Hermione and Draco Forever_.

Draco looked over at Mrs. Weasley who was smiling at him, arm in arm with her husband. Hermione walked over to him and said, "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas. To everyone," he said louder. Hermione smiled at him and leaned in.

"Mistletoe," she whispered in his ear. Draco leaned forward and caught her lips in a passionate kiss, full of want and desire. She smiled at him when they broke their kiss and looked at the ornament. "Do you like it?"

"I love it, but not as much as I love you," he said and held her hand and led her to the floor, where there was a pile of presents waiting for her to unwrap.

"Here you go," she said, handing him some parcels.

"I have presents?" he said in disbelief. Hermione gave him an awkward smile.

"Of course. You mother sent you something, and Mrs. Weasley. There's something from Professor Snape there and something from me." Draco gave her an odd voice and looked back at Mrs. Weasley, who was still smiling at him with a sad look in her eye.

Draco unwrapped his gifts and thanked Hermione for her gift, a silver ring with the Slytherin crest, entwined with their names. Draco had given her a necklace, shaped like a lion that had their names as well. He got up and crossed the room.

"Thank you, for everything. You didn't have to have me here, or make anything for me. But I wanted to really thank you for that ornament. It means a lot to me and Hermione," he said to Mr. And Mrs. Weasley. They both nodded and hugged him like a son.

"Hermione really cares about you, if there's anything at all we could do for you, just ask," Mr. Weasley said.

"Actually, Mr. Weasley, there is," he said quickly, as a sudden thought struck his head.

"Call me Arthur, please. What can I do?" he asked Draco.

"Can we talk, privately?" he said, eyeing Mrs. Weasley standing next to him.

"Yes, of course we can. Let's talk in the kitchen, come on," he said and led Draco away from the happy people enjoying Christmas.

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**A/n- Wow, I wrote this entire chapter in one morning. Probably because I got some good reviews for both my stories and my spirits are high! I hope you liked the chapter, please review! I really appreciate anything you guys have to say, so please do so. The next chapter for Stranded in Time should be up Tuesday, maybe even before that. Read and Review!**

**Reviews for me? Thanks a lot!**

_BlackOwl892006- Thanks for your review! I appreciate you thinking I'm a good writer, which is what I want to do when I get older. I'm glad you like both fics and that you review for both, you totally do rock! Here's the next installment, and the other story should be updated within the next 4 days, hopefully less. _

_Soccerpixie3000- I hope it wasn't too much fluffiness, but it does seem to be. Sorry, if it is, but I am pretty happen with the outcome of this chapter. Thanks for the review. _

_Mistressofmiddleearth- Thanks for your review. )_

_AzureStar- Not only do I write Dm/Hg fics, I also read them all the time. Glad you like. _

_Gipsy- I pretty much understood your review, you did fine. Well, if your question wasn't fully answered in this chapter, I'll explain a bit. Lucius knows that the more he hurts Hermione, the more he puts pressure on Draco. And he thought his little deal would work out, because he's been planning this for awhile. By killing Hermione, he would be ruining his weapon. He knows for some reason that Draco likes Hermione, and if she died then Draco would most definitely never become a death eater. So he needs her there for a little while until he can get her out of the picture. Or will he? _

**Ok, so I know where I'm going with this, I just have to get there. So if the updates take a bit longer it's because I'm trying to map out the plot. Thanks in advance, peace outt. **

**Krista**


	16. The Brooding Bad Boy

_Disclaimer- Same as always. _

**A/n- Here's the next chapter…hope you like. Regular stuff at the bottom. **

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The Brooding Bad Boy

"What is it?" Mr. Weasley asked Draco once they reached the kitchen, handing Draco a cup of coffee as well. Draco took it gratefully and took a sip, the hot liquid warming him up a bit.

"Well, Hermione and I have been having some issues," he said vaguely, taking another swig of coffee. Mr. Weasley furrowed his brow and turned around to face Draco.

"It seems like everything is going alright between you two," he replied dryly and took a sip of his dark coffee.

"Relationship wise it is. I mean she's a handful, but she's definitely not the problem. It's actually my father. He's threatening me basically. I went to see him a few days ago, for a meeting at the Manor. My house, that is," he explained. Arthur Weasley nodded his eyes and seemed to be racking his brain for something.

"What do you mean by threatening?" he asked finally.

"Hurting Hermione basically. He doesn't want me dating her, but he also now knows that I have no wish to be a death eater. I need help protecting her. I hate to ask people for favors, but this is almost out of my control. There's nothing stopping him from killing her," he said and looked away. He truly hated asking people to help him, it was against his upbringing. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Lucius Malfoy's own son wants him dead. Now that's something I never thought I would see," came a voice from behind him. Draco whirled around to come face to face with his old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Mad-Eye Moody.

"Mad-Eye! How nice of you to stop in," Arthur said, standing up to shake hands with him. Mad-Eye was quite frightening when you first saw him, though Draco was used to this by now. It had been three years since he had seen him.

"I didn't know you were harboring fugitives' sons," he said and laughed a harsh laugh. Mr. Weasley chuckled a bit and offered him a seat.

"Actually, Mad-Eye, I'm pretty sure you could help us with this conversation. Draco here is dating my son Ronald's friend Hermione Granger. His father is stirring up some trouble and Draco was just asking for some help. Ministry protection perhaps?" Arthur suggested and Draco let the men discuss methods of protecting him.

"So, let's get the facts straight. He wants you to be a death eater but you don't want to be a death eater? Wow…Lucius Malfoy's own son not being a death eater. I can see why he is angry," Mad-Eye pointed out. Draco nodded and drank the remaining coffee out of his cup.

"Yeah, so what do we do about it?" he said hurriedly. He wanted to get to Hermione and the Christmas celebration.

"We'll figure it out. Why don't you go and be with Hermione, you deserve that. Go on," he said, shooing Draco out the room. Draco went immediately back, but when he got there he just wanted to be alone. He instead left the Christmas happiness and went up to the room Hermione and he shared.

He lay down on his bed and thought about how messed up his life was right now. If he ever lost Hermione because of his father, he didn't know what he would do. All he knew was that he wanted his own father dead and he wouldn't stop until he got his way.

"Are you trying to be the brooding bad boy?" Hermione asked him, snapping him out of the trance he was in.

"What? Oh no…I was just thinking about something, that's all," he assured her, and laughed at her comment. Brooding bad boy? Was he really?

"Why did you leave the celebration? They don't care that you are there, they enjoy the company," she insisted and Draco leaned back against the headboard. Hermione came and cuddled up next to him.

"Hermione, can you do something for me?" Draco asked her. He wanted her to always be safe, and the only way for that was for her to be with him at all times. He didn't want her to ever be hurt.

"Depends on what it is," she said suspiciously. Draco laughed and ran his hands through her hair gently. She closed her eyes and Draco felt her relax.

"At night, can we sleep together? I mean like, in the same bed, that is," he asked her quickly. Her reaction was just as he expected; she lifted up her head angrily and gave him an odd look.

"Why?" she asked him.

"I would feel better if you did. My father really threatened me the other day. I **know** you can take care of yourself. And I **know** this seems stupid, but please, I'd feel so much better if you listened to me. For once."

"Sure, why not," she said easily and leaned back into his chest. He ran his fingers through her soft hair and laughed at how easily she had agreed. He was finally getting her alone in his room.

"I know what you're thinking. I said maybe, remember?" she asked him. Draco rolled his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Yes, I remember. Hermione, what are you waiting for?" he complained. She turned over and lay down on top of him, smiling.

"I'm just not ready," she murmured against his lips in between kisses. He rolled his eyes and flipped her over so he was on top.

"It's going to be the same, but I'm not forcing you. I understand, it's your first time, its fine," he said sympathetically and rolled off of her. She slumped into the bed and gave him a sad look.

"I'm sorry," she said. Draco gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Don't be. I understand, but I can't wait forever Hermione," he said and got up and crossed the room to the door before she spoke.

"You won't have too," she assured him as he walked out of the room.

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"Thank you for letting us stay, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said as they grabbed their trunks. They hugged each other and then Mrs. Weasley reached out for Draco. He reluctantly hugged her back and stepped back very quickly.

Hermione gave Mr. Weasley a hug and Draco shook his hand. When he pulled back, Mr. Weasley gave him a stern look. Harry, Ron and Ginny entered the room, and when they finished sending their goodbyes, the group crowded about.

"Have a good rest of the term! Enjoy your couple of months at Hogwarts!" the parents yelled as they apparated to Platform 9 ¾. The group walked to the train until Ginny met up with some friends and Ron and Harry went to join Seamus, Dean and Neville in another compartment.

Draco held Hermione's hand as they boarded the train, their stuff hovering in front of them lazily. Draco put their belongings in the hold above them and joined Hermione in the compartment. For the first time in two weeks they were alone, together.

"Exactly 4 months ago we were alone in this compartment," Draco said, reminiscing.

"Yeah, and we hated each other. I called you a ferret and you were trying to be polite to me. Then you called me a…a…a mudblood," she muttered to him. Draco looked at her and held her hand.

"I'm sorry. About everything. All the times I called you a mudblood and hurt you and your friends. I really am, I don't know how you can forgive me when I can barely forgive myself," he pleaded for her. Her lips met Draco's in a sizzling kiss as he relaxed his mind.

He grabbed her and put his arm around her waist, laying her gently down on the bench, his lips still in contact with hers. He lipped her bottom lips and she opened it happily. As they made out, Draco moved his hands up her shirt and back down to hers waist.

He tugged on her jeans, giving her a swift look in her eyes, which were now opened wide. She shut them again and grabbed Draco's hands, flipping onto the top of him and pinning them above him. She kissed him hungrily and Draco slipped out of her reach and put his hands back at her pants line. He began to undo the button.

She moaned and grabbed his hands again, slapping them away like she was scolding him. "Not now Draco, later," she hissed at him and rolled off him, realizing what she had said. Draco looked elated.

"No, that's not what I meant," she complained as he sat up and tried to fix his hair.

"Uh huh, whatever," he said easily. He seemed so happy about something and Hermione didn't know why. He lifted off his shirt and grabbed another one out of his trunk, changing into that and new robes. Hermione watched and noticed a small mark on his upper back on his left shoulder. It looked a lot like…; it was. It was Voldemort's mark on his back.

"Draco, you didn't," she sobbed as she touched the mark gently. Draco moved her hand away and held it in his hand.

"No, I didn't. My dad gave that to me when I was younger. It's a tattoo," he explained. "I've been trying to find a way to get rid of it for awhile, but I can't seem to find a spell to get rid of it," he said to her and she laughed nervously.

"I knew you would never, I just jumped to conclusions," she said and let out a shaky laugh.

"Ok, its ok, Hermione," he comforted her as they sat back down, falling asleep to the gentle rocking of the train moving beneath them.

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**A/n- I know it took a long time, I know it's short. I'm sorry, please don't send hate mail. I started school and I was pretty busy. But I did get great feedback so I'll try to update quickly if you guys review again. **

_Soccerpixie3000- Thanks, as always!_

_Blackowl892006- I just have to tell you, that when you updated for my other fic, I was on the bus checking my email with my cell, and I was laughing pretty hard. I got the oddest looks ever… Anyways, just wanted to say thanks and remind you to keep reviewing, you are the funniest person ever!_

_Gispy- Hope you like and everything is clear. Review again, thanks!_


	17. Perfect World

_Disclaimer- Same old, same old. _

**A/n- Enjoy it. Regular notes at the bottom. Welcome aboard to all new readers!**

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Perfect World

"Draco, wake up," Hermione said softly as Draco was shaken slightly awake. He lifted his head groggily and blinked a few times. Hermione was next to him, craning her neck to see if he was awake. "We're home," she said softly in his ear.

"The only one I have, yup," he said and kissed her deeply and helped her up. She gave him a smile and they walked out into the corridor, and then exited the train. Harry, Ron and Ginny jogged up to them and they all walked to the carriages.

"Actually, let's walk to Hogwarts, we're all prefects and Heads anyways, right?" Draco suggested and the group nodded in agreement. They all walked down the empty streets of Hogsmeade silently, their shoes leaving footprints in the newly fallen snow.

Draco suddenly remembered to ask Hermione something, and quickly turned to her. "Hermione, what do you want for your birthday?" he asked her. He actually had no idea when her birthday was, but he needed ideas. He didn't want to get her another necklace, and he wanted to save the time to give her a ring.

She opened her eyes wide but smiled at him. "My birthday is in September. September 22 actually," she replied and flashed him another smile. He cursed under his breath and shuffled his feet.

"It's the thought that counts with me Draco," Hermione said sweetly and grabbed his hand, entwining her fingers with his. Ron snarled next to him and looked back at Ginny and Harry, who were now making out yards behind them.

"Disgusting," Draco commented as Harry and Ginny caught up. It seemed that Ron was thinking along the same line.

"Oh yeah, and seeing you and one of my best friends make out on a couch is any better?" Harry suggested and Draco scowled at him for bringing that up. Ron held back a cough.

"None of your business; learn to knock Potter," Draco shot back at him and he shrugged his shoulders. The rest of the trip was spent in silence and finally they reached the castle, just in time for dinner.

Draco branched off at the Slytherin table while the others went to the Gryffindor table. For once in his life, he wished he was in Gryffindor. He sighed and picked at his food. Suddenly, he got up from the table, crossed the hall and sat down next to Hermione at the Gryffindor table. She gave him an odd look but he just simply nodded and began to load his plate.

He looked up at the Headmaster and noticed a twinkle in the old man's eye. Why were his eyes always twinkling?

"Why are you-" Hermione started but Draco's lips cut her off. She smiled into his lips and they broke apart.

"I told you to stop doing that," she scolded him, "especially in front of people." Draco chuckled and began tearing chicken from his chicken wing.

After dinner, Draco and Hermione went upstairs to turn in for the night. Hermione got dressed in her room and then joined Draco in his. Draco lay down on his bed and Hermione lay down on top of him. Draco smirked as her lips neared his.

"This will be fun," she said seductively as their lips met. Draco wasted no time in bringing his hands up her shirt and throwing it over her head. She sighed as she helped him out of his as well. Draco threw his tongue into the mix and rolled on top of her.

He tugged on her pajama pants but her eyes were closed and as he helped them down she kicked them off. He kicked his off, leaving her in her panties and him in his boxers. He pulled at her underwear line and she gave him a skeptical look, but sighed and threw up her arms.

"I give up. Go on," she said and smirked at him. Draco didn't need telling twice.

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Draco woke up early and saw Hermione next to him, smiling in her sleep. He brushed the hair out of her face and she slowly opened her eyes. He smiled but gave her a suspicious look.

"Are you alright?" he asked her quietly, keeping his space. He had some experience in this, girls liked to be left alone after shagging.

"I'm a big girl Draco, I can take care of myself," she said slowly and lay on her back, staring at the ceiling.

"I was just making sure, don't snap at me," he said angrily, his temper rising. He calmed himself down quickly.

"I'm not, it's just…you don't understand, I mean you do, but…listen, I gave you the most important part of me last night, just take it easy on me, ok?" she retorted to him and he nodded his head, getting close enough to her to hug her.

"I know it's a big deal, but you were fine," he assured her before rolling back over to his side.

"It's not what it cracked up to be," she said truthfully and Draco nodded to her.

"That's what they all say," he replied. "I don't know what you were expecting."

"Nothing, just not that," she said and they both laughed. Draco gave her a smile and she smiled shyly back at him.

"It wasn't that bad," he confessed to her and she laughed. "Come on, let's get…dressed…" he said awkwardly and they both got out of bed, taking a sheet each with them.

"It's going to be a long day, I have to talk to Ginny," Hermione said before stepping through the door to her room. Draco laughed and nodded.

"Yeah."

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**In Hermione's point of view…**

"You did it?" Ginny asked Hermione excitedly as they walked back to the Gryffindor tower, where Ginny was letting Hermione stay for the night.

"I already told you a thousand times, yes," Hermione said exasperated as they entered the common room. Ginny shrieked.

"How was it?" she asked in an excited tone.

"How was what?" Parvati asked as she and Lavender appeared beside them. They seemed to always do that whenever there was gossip.

"Hermione and Draco shagged," Ginny said quickly and Hermione punched her on the arm.

"Ginny!" she complained as the other two girls shrieked like Ginny and started waving their arms excitedly. They practically dragged Hermione upstairs into their dorms and sat her down.

"Come on, spill it," Parvati said excitedly. She had a certain gleam in her eye.

"Oh come on, you know what it's like Pav," Hermione said tiredly and leaned back.

"Not with Draco! You know the rumors Hermione, come on," she persisted and Lavender nodded quickly. Ginny was shaking with silent giggles.

"Yeah, Hermione, he's so hot," Lavender agreed and widened her eyes and wiggled her eyebrows.

"That's my boyfriend you're talking about. Besides, I have nothing to compare too," she said as if it was obvious. Ginny burst into another fit of giggles and Lavender and Parvati exchanged looks.

"There's more to it than that, come on…" Lavender whined.

"It was fine, ok, and that's the last thing I say!" she screamed and they both backed away slowly. Ginny laughed out loud at Hermione's sudden attack on Lavender and Parvati. They both look like they had been slapped.

"Alright, well, now that we don't have anything else to say, I'm going to get my stuff from my room and then sleep over in Ginny's room. Goodnight," Hermione said quickly and rushed out of the room. She practically ran through the hallways, surprised that she had survived the first encounter. She knew Ginny would have questions as well, being the younger one.

"Hey, there you are. It was getting late I was getting worried," Draco voiced as Hermione rushed through the portrait door. "Where are you going?" he asked her as she headed straight up to her room.

Hermione grabbed a few things that she needed from her room and rushed back out. She stopped in front of Draco and he stared at her, and then at the things in her hands.

"Where are you going?" he asked her suspiciously.

"I'm staying in the Gryffindor 6th year dorms tonight with Ginny."

"Why does it have to be like this?" he complained. Hermione sighed and put her hands on his shoulders, with some difficult because he was so tall.

"It's not like that; I just need time, alright? I'm not mad at you Draco," she explained and he shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Fine, go on. I'll see you in the morning," he said grumpily and she gave him a light kiss on the lips before leaving.

Draco sighed and collapsed onto the couch as Hermione closed the door behind her. He grabbed his cd player, which he had charmed so it could work inside the Hogwarts grounds, and began listening to his favorite song by Simple Plan, called Perfect World.

_I never could've seen this far  
I never could've seen this coming  
Seems like my world's falling apart_

Yeah

Why is everything so hard  
I don't think I can deal with the things you said  
It just won't go away

In a perfect world  
This could never happen  
In a perfect world  
You'd still be here   
And it makes no sense  
I could just pick up the pieces  
But to you  
This means nothing  
Nothing at all

I used to think that I was strong  
Until the day it all went wrong  
I think I need a miracle to make it through

Yeah

I wished that I could bring you back  
I wished that I could turn back time  
Cuz I can't let go  
I just can't find my way   
Yeah  
Without you I just can't find my way

In a perfect world  
This could never happen  
In a perfect world   
You'd still be here  
And it makes no sense  
I could just pick up the pieces  
But to you  
This means nothing  
Nothing at all

I don't know what I should do now  
I don't know where I should go  
I'm still here waiting for you  
I'm lost when you're not around  
I need to hold on to you  
I just can't let you go

Yeah  
Yeah

In a perfect world   
This could never happen  
In a perfect world  
You'd still be here  
And it makes no sense  
I could just pick up the pieces   
But to you  
This means nothing  
Nothing at all  
Nothing, nothing at all  
Nothing at all

He missed Hermione like crazy. He wanted to be upstairs, lying in bed with her again. Ever since last night he couldn't stop thinking about her. He had decided; he was ready and so was she. He knew he loved her and he wanted to be with her forever. He knew, by the end of this year, he was going to propose to her.

He didn't care about his father or his housemates or his family as much as he cared about Hermione. He wanted her forever. Anyone that didn't want them together could royally screw off, even his father. Especially his father.

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**A/n- did you guys like it? Hope so, please review it! I had to add that song because I love it so yeah! **

**Reviews!**

_Zarroc- Muahaha, she gave in. Hope you liked it! Thanks!_

_BlackOwl892006- I think I'd prefer if Draco kissed me actually. Or Harry…Ok, well I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing continuously!_

_Mistressofmiddleearth- I'm getting used to the whole school thing, so here's the update. Hop you like it! Thanks for your review!_

_Soccerpixie3000- I'm glad to say I finally got this chapter up. I'm very flattered you really like my story, so keep reviewing! _ _Thanks a lot!_

_Mouse10- Glad you like it and you reviewed! Here's a new chapter and I hope you review again! Thanks a lot!_


	18. Everything is Ready

_Disclaimer- Learn it, know it, love it. I DON'T FREAKING OWN IT. _

**A/n- Welcome back to Enemies Clash. I fear that we may be nearing the end. About 5-6 more chapters I think, but I'm not sure. Read and review please, people!**

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Everything is Ready

"Hey Draco, wake up Draco," Hermione said softly into his ear. He groaned and turned over, hugging his pillow and grunting. "Get up!" she moaned and tugged at his arm. He sighed and turned to look at her.

"What?" he asked groggily as he sat straight up in his bed. His headphones were still around his neck, he had fallen asleep listening to Simple Plan.

"I'm bored, get up," she whined and he laughed, catching her by the waist and pulling her onto him. She kissed him and he finally felt right. It's where he belonged; in his bed with Hermione next to him.

"Stop it," she moaned as he began to tug on her pants, stopping him with her hands. He looked taken aback.

"I thought we were past that!" he complained and paused while she kissed him.

"No, you have to earn it now," she said and kissed him again. Draco could desperately tell she wanted to have fun, but he wasn't going to let her until they talked. He broke off their kiss and looked at her.

"What's that supposed to mean? What are you looking for?" she said and she shrugged her shoulders.

"Valentine's Day would be nice," she said and crashed her lips onto his, easily slipping her tongue in to grind over his. They snogged for awhile, before Draco pulled away and flipped on top of her, then rolling over onto the side.

"Valentine's Day! That's like…more than a month!" he whined at her, and she laughed.

"God Draco, keep it in your pants," she said and Draco raised his eyebrows at her.

"Are you talking dirty to me?" he asked her and she giggled as he neared her, finally tickling her in her stomach. She collapsed into fits of giggles and smiled at Draco when he stopped.

"Ok, so Valentine's Day huh?" Draco asked her and she nodded. "Why so long?"

"Because I told you, I'm not into sex only relationships," she said seriously and Draco saw the look, in the back of her eye, that was always there. The look like she was afraid of losing him; that she was afraid he would leave her for someone else. It was then that Draco realized how real this situation was.

"Hermione, what do I have to do to prove to you you're the only one I want? This isn't like that Hermione, I love you."

"I know, but…Draco, I'm afraid to lose you!" she wailed. Draco sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders, leaning her head down onto his shoulder, moving the hair out of her face. He ran his finger over her soft skin of her face, and looked into her chocolate-brown eyes, which were stained with tears.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said softly and she hiccupped. She nodded and looked back into his eyes. He saw the light coming back, the happiness that was usually present was returning to her eyes. Draco could have looked into them forever. She reached up and brushed the hair out of his face.

"I know. But Draco, why is it that all the time you dated me, all you wanted was to shag me?" she said. Oh no, the light was fading fast.

"It wasn't the only thing I wanted. It's a guy thing, Hermione. And a slut thing," he added and Hermione laughed. "All I want is you, but this is part of it. It's who I am."

"Yeah, I can't imagine sex-deprived Draco," she said they both laughed.

"You've seen him, I think I went 7 months without a shag," he said and Hermione gave him a mock surprise look.

"How did you do it!" she said and they laughed.

"I'm not sure…" he said. For the rest of the day, they just lay there, talking and er…making out…

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**A month later…**

"God Draco you're so…you're such a guy!" Hermione scolded him. They were trying to finalize the plans for the Valentine's Day dance, which was in one week. Draco thought it was going to be sappy, but Hermione thought it was 'cute'. Whatever made her happy; happy Hermione is good for bed, Draco reasoned.

"Thank you, are we done yet?" Draco said. He was tired from quidditch practice, and they had a game tomorrow against Hufflepuff. In order to have a shot at the cup, they would have to at least beat Hufflepuff by about 50 points. More would help.

Gryffindor had played two games already, and Slytherin had steam rolled Ravenclaw in their game two weeks ago. Tomorrow was another game and then in April there would be the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw game. Then, at the end of May, Slytherin and Gryffindor would play, which would probably determine the cup.

"Yes, we are done. Rest up, big game tomorrow. Um…right?" she asked him. God, she knew nothing about quidditch.

"Um sorta. We have to win so we can beat Gryffin- I mean win the cup," he corrected. He twitched a little.

Hermione laughed at him; she knew what topic they were avoiding. School unity was all Hermione had talked about for the past week. As the end of the year got closer, she became more worried and worried about the war. I mean her best friend had to kill Voldemort or die. It was a hard situation to live with.

"Who are you rooting for anyway? You know it will come down to Slytherin and Gryffindor for the cup, right?" he asked. He had been dying to know her answer forever.

"Well, Draco, I'm sorry…" she started and Draco cursed in his head," but I'm going to root for Gryffindor. Draco, please understand," she pleaded with him. He breathed in and then out slowly.

"I get it," he mumbled and sat down, now a bit more nervous about the game. If he threw the next game, they would have next to no chance to win the cup. But he was captain and the seeker; he couldn't let his mates down. Yet, if Hermione wanted him too…

"I'm going to throw the game," he announced and was immediately pushed back down by Hermione, giving him a serious look.

"No! No, no, no, and no! You are not throwing the game because you want to please me. That won't make me happy. I want to see the famous match up at the end of the year. Please Draco? Come on, quidditch is your place to shine in your house!" she yelled at him.

"Fine, fine. You're right, it's important to me. I just thought…what if I beat Potter? Then what will you do?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"Mope with your friends or party here with me?" he asked her.

"I'm not sure…"

"Fine, whatever. Hey, I have a question for you. Will you go the ball with me?" he asked very quickly.

"Of course," she said and lay down on the couch next to Draco.

"Good."

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"Draco does this dress look alright?" Hermione asked him as she walked out of her room. Draco looked at it and admired her appearance.

"It's not revealing enough," he said and smirked. She smacked him playfully on the arm.

"Good, I'll wear this one then," she said, seemingly satisfied. Draco pouted and she kissed on the lips and walked back into her room. She appeared minutes later in regular clothes; jeans and a tank top.

"Hermione it's too cold to wear a tank top, it's the middle of winter," Draco said and Hermione laughed.

"Yeah, but it's warm in here. Fine I'll change," she shrugged and came back in a long sleeve shirt and a sweater. She looked happy about something.

"Why are you so happy? That used to mean something along the lines of kill Malfoy, but now I presume it's different?" he asked her and laughed. She smiled even bigger and grabbed his hand. "Where are we going?" he asked as she pulled him through the portrait door.

"To have some fun," she said and continued pulling him.

"In the snow?" he said faintly.

"Not that kind of fun you sick-o" she said angrily and dragged him up three sets of stairs and stopping beside the Gryffindor portrait. Draco eyed it curiously and then looked back at Hermione.

"Oh no, no way Hermione!" he complained as she said the password and walked in, pulling him along.

"Be good," she whispered to him and he tried putting on a smile. Instead of pulling him she grabbed his hand, entwining her fingers in his and led the way to the back of the common room, where Harry, Ron and Ginny were all talking. Or rather, Ron was talking, and Harry and Ginny were making out on the couch.

Draco sat down in Harry's usual seat next to Ron, and Hermione sat in what used to be her old armchair, but was used by Ginny this year. Ron looked at Draco in a funny way and then back at Harry and Ginny. Draco watched Ron's eyes drift to the far side of the room, where Lavender and Parvati were talking.

Draco saw the look Ron was getting, and when Parvati looked at him and smiled, Ron gave her a goofy little grin. Hermione poked him in the arm. "Did you hear a thing I said?" she asked him.

"Huh, no. Sorry, I'll be back in a minute," he said and got up, traveling over to the group of girls. Hermione was now boring Ron instead, Draco noticed as he looked back.

"Hey," he said to the two gossiping girls. They looked at him and smiled, both saying hi.

"Hey, Lavender, right? Can I talk to Parvati for a sec?" he asked her and she just shrugged and walked over to Seamus, immediately flirting with him. Draco laughed and Parvati did too. Draco glanced over to Hermione and she was red in the face. Shit, she thinks I'm flirting with Parvati.

"Let's keep this quick, Hermione doesn't look happy. Ok, so I think Weasley likes you. He looks kinda sad over there and keeps looking at you."

"Yeah, I like him too. He's just so daft-" but Draco didn't listen to the rest of her sentence, he just ran over, grabbed Ron by the tie and dragged him up to Parvati.

"Tell her you like her," Draco whispered in his ear and pushed him almost into Parvati. Draco listening to the confessions of the two idiots and then walked back over to Hermione, who was lonely. Ron was already practically eating Parvati's face.

Draco picked up Hermione, sat on her chair, and she sat on top of him. "Were you jealous?" he said sarcastically as he pulled the strands of hair away from her face.

"Do I have a reason to be?" she said and Draco widened his eyes.

"Nope," he said and they starting kissing. It seemed perfect almost; for once the only thing in his life that was wrong was his father. He had solved the Weasley problem finally. Thank god.

And he had won his quidditch match yesterday. It was down to Gryffindor versus Slytherin for the cup. Draco's final chance.

Everything is ready.

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**A/n- Hope you liked, and I know time flew by, but it's needed to get to the climax. Coming up next week, or rather next update, which will be next week: the Valentine's Day Ball, Hogmeade Trip and their first official date! It'll be a long chappie folks! Please review this chapter!**

**Reviews!**

_Special thanks to Azure Star, for adding my story to his C2. Woohoo!_

_Zarroc- Thanks for reviewing, and yes she did! Hope you liked the chapter. _

_BlackOwl892006- I don't know what it's like either ;). I've read other fanfictions so I get ideas from theirs usually. So, hope you liked this chapter as well, thanks for reviewing as always. _

_Gipsy- Poor, poor Draco. Haha, well hoe you liked the chapter. Review again soon, thanks!_

_HazelOcean- Updated! Hope you like! Oh , by the way, some of the fanfictions you read and review, I read too. I've seen your name on their thanking list, but I forget which story. Anyways, seems like we have the same taste in stories. _

_Soccerpixie3000- Thanks for your continued support, hope you liked the chapter. I agree it is a big young, but he won't propose yet. We'll see how it goes… Only I know, muahaha._

_Review please! Thanks everyone, I'm out. Pce!_


	19. Tears, Hogsmeade, and the Ball

_Disclaimer- Same as always, I don't own this stuff. _

**A/n- I owe all of you an apology! Since I've last updated I had a project, homework, two essays, a fact sheet, and 3 tests. Then, I started writing the chapter and it was going really good! Then my mother's laptop crashed, and I lost all my files and documents, including my documents for past chapters of both my stories and the one I was working on. So, I have a new laptop and I'm back to re-writing this chapter. Can you all ever forgive me, I'm so damn sorry!**

**This chapter is kind of fluffy, but you guys can deal. Welcome back to Enemies Clash!**

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Tears, Hogsmeade, and the Ball

"Draco are you going to get up?" Hermione's voice said and Draco groaned and turned over, glancing at the clock. 9:30. He groaned again.

"Wasn't planning on it, but apparently you have other plans," he said and sat up, his head pounding. He stood up and immediately sat back down. He was hung over, and he knew it.

"God Draco you look drunk," Hermione commented as Draco got up and swayed a little, "But we weren't drinking last night." Draco rummaged through his bedside cabinet and pulled out a vial of blue liquid, and down the thing in one gulp. His headache subsided and he straightened up.

"You weren't drinking," he corrected, grabbed some clothes and headed into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and stepped into it just as the door slammed open.

"Draco Malfoy get your arse out here right now!" Hermione screamed. Draco shivered at the anger in her voice. But, he decided to have some fun with this.

"Alright," he complained and started to step out, but Hermione grabbed the curtain and closed it tightly, snarling at him.

"Stay inside Draco!" she whined and tapped her foot impatiently. Draco chuckled.

"Nothing you haven't seen before Hermione," he said truthfully and she sighed and Draco knew she had just ran her hand through her hair. She always did that when she was stressed about something.

"Ha-ha very funny. Just hurry up and get out!" she shrieked and Draco laughed again.

"My, Hermione, I had no idea you felt that way," he sneered and turned off the water. He used a drying charm on himself and his hair, and dressed while inside the shower. He stepped out, all shiny and clean. He wasn't ready for her yelling at him for something right now.

And he definitely wasn't ready for the slap that was aimed at his face. Her hand struck his face and it stung. He trailed his finger over it, but his temper didn't rise. He stood there, glaring at her, and side-stepped her, walked around her, and marched into his room, slamming the door behind him. He magically locked it with a wave of his hand.

"Draco, I'm sorry!" she wailed through his door but he didn't care. That slap was uncalled for. She banged on the door repetitively.

"Draco Malfoy, I'm sorry, please open this door now!" she yelled again. Draco ignored her as he flipped through a magazine. "Open the door now or no sex!" she taunted. That comment struck a nerve. He shivered and unlocked the door.

"Ok, you win!" he screamed as she burst through the door. He lowered his eyes from her, which were filled with sadness.

"That slap was uncalled for," she apologized, as she stroked his cheek with her finger. Draco liked the softness of her skin.

"What was it for?" he asked her as he climbed on top of her and propped himself up.

"You were drinking last night?" she asked him and he snorted.

"Yeah, not that much," he replied dryly and rolled off of her. She gave him an angry glare and snarled at the green sheets. She always did that when she was mad at him.

"You don't need to drink Draco," she complained and Draco saw a tear slip down her cheek.

"Why? What's wrong with a little something to drink?" Draco asked, very annoyed. He didn't drink that much last night.

"When I was five, my uncle got into a car crash because he was drunk," she choked out, "And I loved him so much Draco," she finished, sobbing. Draco held her close to him, brushing away her tears from her face.

"Stop it, your make up will run," he said soothingly and she laughed a bit. "Are we going to Hogsmeade today?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she said and shrugged and Draco gave her a weird look.

"Ok then, will you go to Hogsmeade with me today on a date?" Draco asked and she laughed and nodded.

"Of course I will," she said, and disappeared into her room.

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An hour later found Draco and Hermione walking hand in hand down the streets of Hogsmeade, which were snow covered in rich blankets of white. Hermione shivered and Draco drew her closer, putting his hand instead around her waist protectively. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Parvati were a few steps ahead of them.

They all cramped into The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer, and sat down in a booth. They all sipped their drinks and talked for awhile, then decided that the couples should split up, promising to meet back in the Three Broomsticks in two hours.

Draco and Hermione headed straight out of the pub and down towards the joke shop. They browsed for awhile but found nothing, and headed out. They walked around the streets, Hermione running into a book store and then walking out happily twenty minutes later with three new books to read.

The snow was lightly falling onto their shoulders and heads as they walked through the empty streets; most of the kids were inside having drinks in a pub.

They stopped in front of the shrieking shack, where they sat down on a big rock, Draco holding Hermione's hand in his.

"I love Valentine's Day," Hermione said and Draco scoffed. He hated Valentine's Day; it was so cheesy.

"I guess its ok," he said and shrugged his shoulders. Hermione leaned over, initiating their kiss, which Draco quickly agreed to. For awhile, they enjoyed a passionate kiss and finally stopped, Hermione checking her watch.

"Come on, we were supposed to be there 10 minutes ago," she said sadly, and they headed back. Draco was half expecting the other couples to be mad, but Harry and Ginny still weren't there, so they sat down and waited.

When Harry and Ginny finally arrived, the girls went off by themselves and Draco, Ron and Harry left the pub as well. Draco was bored around the two idiots, but he knew it made Hermione happy to see him with them.

He dragged his feet along and they just talked for awhile, finally finding their way back to the Three Broomsticks, which was now thinning out as many people were leaving. Parvati, Ginny and Hermione were waiting there and each of them gave their significant other a quick kiss on the lips before departing back for Hogwarts.

"Ok, Draco, I'm going to get ready for the dance!" Hermione called out as they entered the common room, and Draco was already halfway up the stairs to his room. Draco grabbed his dress robes, throwing them on quickly and fixing his hair with a wave of his hand.

He was really bored as he tapped his foot and paced the common room for a half an hour. Hermione was probably getting her dress on and fixing her hair. Draco decided to go see Harry and Ron before the dance. There was no doubt in his mind that they were already ready.

He walked down the hallway and when he reached the portrait, it opened right on front of him, and Harry and Ron stepped out of it. "Oh, hey guys," Draco greeted as they gave him weird looks and both of them cracked up.

"We were just going to get you," they chuckled and Draco smirked.

"We told Parvati and Ginny to meet us in the Head's rooms," Ron explained and Draco nodded and began his way back to his room. When they reached his room they all sat on the couches and chairs and talked until Hermione came down.

The first thing Draco noticed was that she had changed the original color of the dress from gold to green, but it didn't take the beauty of the dress away. Her hair was down in soft curls that framed her face beautifully. Draco smiled as she walked down the stairs and came straight up to him, kissing him sweetly on the lips.

And that's when it clicked in Draco's mind. As his mind whirled with thoughts about Hermione, they shared a passionate kiss and a quick embrace. Draco just couldn't find anything wrong about his life right now; all that mattered was that Hermione was in his arms all night tonight.

"I like the color of your dress," he said and smirked at the Slytherin green color of the dress.

"I thought the Slytherin Prince needed a princess tonight," she said and held his hand, as Ginny and Parvati walked through the portrait door. Harry and Ron each greeted them and they each took one of the boys' arms.

"I only take the best 'Mione," Draco said and led the way, Hermione snarling at him for using her nickname. When they reached the entrance hall, Hermione and Draco pushed their way to the Great Doors to announce that they were indeed there. Professor Dumbledore registered their presence and called for silence.

"Your Head Boy and Head Girl will open the ball with a dance, prefects and their dates may join in halfway through if they wish," he said loud and clear and opened the door with a big push and a loud creak of the door.

Hermione's ideas were wonderfully planned; the Great Hall was magnificent. The House tables were gone and there were tables for two with beautiful chandeliers holding candles above each. The dance floor was huge, and covered in pink confetti, because above it were little cupids hanging from the ceiling that dropped them. They sickeningly reminded Draco of his second year where Lockhart had the cherubs.

Magical speakers were playing a muggle song right now, but there would also be a live performance by the Weird sisters for the last dance. Draco led Hermione to the floor and placed his hands on her lower back, and hers went around his neck. They moved slowly to the music.

_Ever since the day you went away _

_And left me lonely and cold _

_My life just hasn't been the same _

_Oh baby no _

_When I looked into your eyes _

_The moment that I let you go I just broke down (down) _

_Baby if I ever get the chance to be with you again I would sacrifice _

_'Cause the feelin that I feel within no other man _

_Would ever make me feel so right _

_It's nice to smile when I get your phone call at night _

_But I'd rather have you here with me _

_Right next to me _

_And I miss the way you hold me tight _

_I've got to let you know I feel so weak without your touch _

_I never thought that I could ever love a man so much _

_I've gotta let you know I think that we are destiny _

_For you I'd cross the world for you _

_I'd do anything _

_That's right baby _

_I'm goin' crazy_

_I need to be your lady _

_I've been thinking lately_

_That you and me, yes we can make it _

_Just ride with me, roll with me_

_I'm in love with you (baby) _

_That's right baby _

_Im goin' crazy _

_I need to be your lady _

_I've been thinking lately _

_That you and me, yes we can make it_

_Just ride with me, roll with me _

_I'm in love with you (baby) _

_Break it down now I'll tell you what I feel_

_From the moment that I met you it's been so damn real _

_My heart seems to skip another beat every time we speak _

_Can't believe I feel so weak_

_Tell me that you really need me _

_And you want me _

_And you miss me _

_And you love me _

_I'm your lady _

_I'll be around waiting for you _

_Put it down be the woman for you _

_I'm falling so deep for you _

_Crazy over you I'm calling _

_Callin' out to you _

_What am I gonna do? _

_It's true no frontin' _

_It's you ain't no other _

_I can no longer go on without you _

_I just break down (down)_

_I've got to let you know I feel so weak without your touch _

_I never thought that I could ever love a man so much _

_I've gotta let you know I think that we are destiny _

_For you I'd cross the world for you _

_I'd do anything _

_That's right baby _

_I'm goin' crazy _

_I need to be your lady _

_I've been thinking lately _

_That you and me, yes we can make it _

_Just ride with me, roll with me _

_I'm in love with you (baby) _

_That's right baby _

_I'm goin' crazy _

_I need to be your lady _

_I've been thinking lately _

_That you and me, yes we can make it _

_Just ride with me, roll with me _

_I'm in love with you (baby) _

_ooo, crazy,(ooo) _

_lady (ooo) _

_lately (ooo) _

_Baby _

**((Goin' Crazy by Natalie2005))**

Hermione let go of him and smiled at him. He smiled back and they took the table that was reserved for them. Harry and Ginny were behind them and Ron and Parvati were next to them to the left. The food appeared and Draco and Hermione both ate, talking in between bites.

"You seem excited," Hermione commented at Draco's happy face. He ate a bite of steak and nodded.

"When does this thing end?" he asked her. Hermione checked her watch and looked back at Draco.

"Four hours, why?" she replied and Draco shrugged.

"You know why," he said and winked at her and she snarled at him. She ran her hand through her hair and blinked a few times.

"Can you wait until tomorrow night, I'm tired already," she asked him and he gave her a grumpy face. "I'm kidding Draco, calm down." He smiled again.

"Thank god," he sighed in relief and she slapped him hard on his arm. She gave him a pout face.

"What did I say?" she asked him and Draco racked his brain for something he had done wrong.

"Right," he said and took a sip from his goblet, "no sex-only relationships. And I told you it wasn't like that. Is it a crime to want to shag my girlfriend?" he asked her.

"Of course not," she said and smirked at him. He returned it easily and pushed his plate away from him, full. Hermione followed him.

"Want to dance?" he asked her, noticing people were already dancing on the floor.

"Alright," she replied with a slight sneer, and they resumed their dance from before.

Draco and Hermione danced almost the whole night away, listening to some songs carefully and some were spent kissing each other deeply. Draco thought that the dance turned out okay after all. With 30 minutes left to go in the dance, they decided to break until the final dance and go socialize.

Draco watched Hermione go straight to Harry and Ron and begin talking. Ginny had already walked over and joined in as well. Draco sulked and walked over to where Blaise was sitting with Pansy. Draco drew up a chair and sat down and waited for them to stop making out, which he was disgusted by.

"Hey mate," Blaise said when they finally stopped and Draco threw him a smirk.

"Hey Blaise, Parkinson," he replied back.

"You've been with the mud-muggle born all night," Pansy practically spit out of her mouth as if it was something that tasted very disturbing. Draco shot her an angry look and nodded.

"Yeah, got a problem? Either of you?" he asked angrily. Blaise nodded his head very quickly and so did Pansy; both were very aware of how he got if he was angry.

"You guys are very…cute together," Pansy stuttered, and it was obvious she had clearly forced herself to say it.

"Whatever," he said and glanced back over Hermione and then to the clock. 15 minutes until this thing was over.

"Oooh Draco's getting some tonight," Blaise said, reading his expression correctly. Draco smirked and looked over at Hermione, who looked back and smiled shyly at him.

"Draco! Draco! Earth to Draco!" Pansy screeched in his ear and he snapped back to reality.

"Yeah, what?" he asked, distracted.

"I asked you what she's like in bed mate," Blaise asked him and Draco shot him an angry look, shooting a look at Pansy. She shrugged.

"She's fine," he said and looked back at Hermione, who was talking animatedly to Ginny, who seemed excited about something. Draco got up, totally ignoring Pansy and Blaise, who had started making out again. He walked over to Hermione quietly and put his hands over her eyes.

"Guess who?" he whispered and she turned around fast and kissed him.

"Thought it was you, you're so childish," she scolded as he uncovered her eyes.

"Last dance everyone!" Dumbledore announced and turned the music a little louder; even some of the teachers were heading to the floor; Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were heading to the edge of the floor.

"May I have this dance?" Draco asked Hermione politely and she agreed, pulling him to the middle of the dance floor. She reached up kissing him, and put her hands around his neck and he held her close. Her head rested against his chest as they swayed to the music.

"Time for the couple announcements!" Hermione whispered to Draco. He nodded; he had liked this part of the dance. The teachers were all voting for the cutest couples in Hogwarts, one from each house. Which meant he and Hermione couldn't win because they were from different houses, but oh well. You couldn't have everything in life.

"Alright, as this dance is done, we will announce the hot couples of this year!" Ginny Weasley, designated speaker, announced loudly to the crowd. Everyone immediately began whispering to their neighbor about who they had thought won.

"In Ravenclaw, Terry Boot and Padma Patil are the winners! Congratulations to the Ravenclaw Prince and Princess!" Ginny yelled over the clapping of the Ravenclaws.

"In Hufflepuff, the winners are Ernie MacMillian and Susan Bones! Congratulations to the Hufflepuff Prince and Princess!" Ginny yelled once again.

"In Gryffindor, the winners are…Hey, it's me and Harry! Umm Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter!" she said awkwardly and everyone laughed, but clapped nonetheless. "Thanks you guys!"

"And in Slytherin…well this is odd…Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, who is in Gryffindor by the way, are the Slytherin Prince and Princess!" she screamed and the whole crowd went crazy. The teachers had smirks all over their faces. "Congratulations you guys!"

"That's it for this year's Valentine's Day ball. Another thanks to your Heads and Prefects please!" Dumbledore roared and the crowd clapped and cheered.

Hermione stepped awkwardly through the crowd. She had practically been called a Slytherin, though she was flattered she had won. Draco and Hermione were the last to leave the dance, though Ginny and Harry were waiting for them at the doors outside of the Hall for them.

"Hey guys," Hermione greeted and they all said hi to Hermione and Draco, who remained silent. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs and he bent over.

"Ow! Hey guys," he greeted slowly.

"So, Draco, I was wondering if you'd like to spend the night in Gryffindor Tower tonight, because Ginny wants to stay with Hermione for the night," he said and shot Ginny a shy smile.

He looked at Hermione and she shook her head half an inch to the left and then to the right.

"Sorry Harry, but Hermione and I are busy tonight," he said and winked and Harry laughed and nodded, taking Ginny's hand in his and led her off, without so much as acknowledging as to why.

Hermione laughed as soon as hey left and Draco swept her off and carried her bridal style all the way to their room and up to Draco's bed. He lay her down and she gave a pout face.

"I don't even get to take off my makeup?" she complained and Draco laughed.

"I don't want to wait," he said and shrugged.

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**A/n- I apologize again. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, and sorry some more. Ok, but we have to get over it. I have a new computer and I no longer need the laptop so that means…dum dum dum…drumroll please…faster updates! Because I can write a lot more now! Please review if you still love me…though I don't blame you if you don't…**

_BlackOwl892006- You're probably dead and its my fault, so sorry! I'll pay for the funeral…Anyways, hope you like! _

_AzureStar- Oops, so sorry…AZURESTAR IS A GIRL EVERYONE! MY BAD!_

_Soccerpixie3000- Hey I like fluffy lol! It'll get darker from now on though, sorry you guys that like fluffy…Hope you liked…update again soon!_

_Slytherin91- Thank you so much and I checked out one of your stories and it was pretty good!_

_xFloridaGalX- Muah! Thank you so much, hope you enjoy this chappie!_

**Pce out until next time…still gutta start my other story's chapter! Kristaaaaa**


	20. Shadowed Feelings

**A/n- Welcome back to Enemies clash, great feedback guys, thanks! Told you this was getting faster…**

**Some crude, sexual humor at the end of the chapter, but I need the comic relief. **

_Disclaimer- If it hasn't sunk in by now, I don't know what we shall do with you. _

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Shadowed Feelings

"Who's the letter from?" Hermione asked as she sat down at the Gryffindor table, which Draco was already sitting at. He didn't usually bother sitting at the Slytherin table anymore, nobody talked, ever.

"My mother, and this one," he said, waving the second letter in the air, "is from my father."

"Oh," she said and began eating quietly. Draco eyed her wearily and read his mother's note a second time, which made him happy.

_Draco-_

_Your father finally told me about your new girlfriend, she sounds sweet! A muggleborn, nonetheless, but if you like this girl I have no problem with it. Now, your father is very angry Draco, and although I am not, we still should remember the spot he's in right now. Although I love your father very much, I support your decision not to join the death eaters, but there is nothing I can do to protect you. He is also very angry with me. Good luck son, I hope you will be alright._

_Love, _

_Your mother_

"That's sweet of her," Hermione commented from over his shoulder.

"Yeah, bundle of joy she is. Nothing she can do, great."

"Read his letter," she urged and Draco gave her a disgusted look.

"I was going to burn it, but oh well. Alright, I'll read it," he said exasperated.

_Draco-_

_The Dark Lord is impatient. We are meeting with him on April 1, at the Manor, be there or die. It is out of my hands now son. Make sure you are there, and bring the mudblood. If you don't, we'll bring her for you. _

_LM_

"Great. A month. That's all I have."

"All we have," Hermione corrected as she picked at her fruit.

"You are **not** going with me, are you crazy?" he exclaimed, setting the letter on fire with his wand, causing the first years to clap with admiration. Most of them seemed to like Draco, because he showed off all the time.

"Draco, we aren't fighting here," she said, eyeing Harry and Ron, who were watching and listening, "we'll talk about this later." Draco rolled his eyes, not wanting to talk about this, but got up nevertheless.

"I'll see you tonight," he said and winked and she smiled back at him in response. He walked through the Great Hall doors, up the stairs, and through the hallways to Dumbledore's Office. He said the password, climbed the stairs, and knocked on the door.

"Come in," came a voice. Draco entered through the door and sat down on the chair, not even looking at Dumbledore.

"It's happened?" Dumbledore asked, although it didn't sound much like a question to Draco.

"Yes. April 1st."

"Very well. We will be ready by then. The final showdown. Where are you meeting him?" Dumbledore said, and began writing down the details.

"My house. And I was told to bring Hermione, although I'm sure she wants to be right by Harry when he fights Voldemort," he said, knowing Hermione way too well.

"Well Harry must defeat him, but by all means she will need to be there to help. And I suppose, all jokes put aside, you want to defeat your father."

"I have a score to settle. This is it Dumbledore. I'm ready, you're ready, Harry's ready, and the Order is ready. Let's do this."

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"Draco, it's so soon! What if we don't all make it?" Hermione whimpered. She was scared out of her mind, but so was Draco.

"Hermione, nobody is going to hurt you, I would never let them. Ron and Harry will protect you while I battle with my father, and then I'll come and help out you guys, alright?" he suggested, although he was indeed nervous about his battle with his father.

"Draco, I can't believe you're going to kill your own father," she said as she cuddled close to him, her breath falling in tune with his.

"I have to do this Hermione. Or would you rather me become a death eater? Because we could do that too, if you wish," he said smartly and she gave him a look.

"You're risking your life battling him Draco. I don't want you to be a death eater but if it means you stay alive then maybe it's a better choice."

"I wouldn't be able to see you. They'd probably pull me out of school. And besides, I'd still have to go to this meeting and you'd still have to go with me, and they'd probably kill you," he explained and she sighed, running her hand through her hair again.

"You promise you'll win?" she said slyly and he kissed her forehead.

"I can't make promises to you, but I certainly hope I win."

"I love you," she said softly, cuddling closer to him.

"I love you too."

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"A month is all we have guys," Harry said, pacing the Heads' common room. He was standing in front of a large group of people, mainly 6th and 7th years, preparing to prepare them for the final battle. There were select students from each house there, even some Slytherins.

"God, I don't want to be here," some kid said, staring at the couch as if it were made of lava, "those two," he said, pointing to Hermione Draco, " have probably like, done it, in here," he said and shuddered. The entire group laughed. Draco looked grumpy.

"Yet, I hate to remind you, somebody has probably done it in your bed!" he said, and the boy gulped. "Exactly."

"Back to the point!" Harry thundered, and everyone immediately settled down. "We need to concentrate. Now, we will have meetings every night, if you can't come then you'll have to catch up the next day. We have very little time. We will be learning hexes, defensive moves, curses, and spells, everything you need! So get ready you guys!" he exclaimed, and they all cheered.

"We need to stick together. The four houses and everything! I expect all of you here to try and help during the battle. Dumbledore already said that if your parents give you the OK, then 6th years and up can come with us," Draco said, as he was helping to co-lead the operation.

"First, we'll introduce ourselves and then we will get started. I'm Harry Potter, I think we all know that."

"Draco Malfoy," Draco said and waved.

"Hermione Granger."

"And I'm Ron Weasley."

"Ok, so divide into pairs, and we'll give you a short demonstration of what we'll be doing today." All of the kids scrambled around, finding partners, and since Draco didn't want to duel with Hermione, he chose Harry. Ron and Hermione were partnered together.

"Alright, Draco and I will demonstrate today's activity. We will be practicing using 'expelliarmus' and 'protego'. Now, expelliarmus is the disarming spell, we all know that, and protego is the block spell, so to speak. We'll start by using it out loud, but eventually we'll use non verbal spells."

Draco took his position at the end of the stage, this whole thing reminding him of second year. He bowed to Harry and got ready. "On three. One, two, three!" Ron called and the duel started.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry called and Draco moved off to the side, dodging it instead of deflecting it and sending another disarming charm at Harry, who used protego, which Draco deflected back with his own block spell. It hit Harry right in the chest, because he hadn't been expecting it, and he flew backwards, his wand flying out his hand. The kids clapped.

"Bloody hell, nice one Draco. Alright, so there you have it, this is what we want you to try and do. Work on that for a little while and then we'll switch to non verbal disarming and protecting," he said and the kids chattered while they assumed positions.

Draco and Hermione held hands as they walked around, helping out the kids with bits of advice or simply watching their progress. After everyone had practiced enough, Ron and Hermione gave a nonverbal duel, and then they broke up again.

"You ok?" Draco asked after Hermione came off the stage. Ron had got her good with an expelliarmus, which he was very happy about.

"I'm fine Draco, I'm not a baby," she said and he backed off. They walked around separately this time, Draco dragging his feet along, barely glancing at the duels in progress. He didn't care about the little kids, even though they would be helping, he needed some serious stress relief right now. His fight with his father seemed a lot closer now that they were preparing, and it seemed stupid to even prepare. How much better could they get?

A whistle from Harry's mouth sounded, and everyone stopped immediately, smiling at their progress. Harry concluded the meeting with a quick speech, telling them they would get better and to get lots of sleep, and to try not to be too nervous. He dismissed them, finally collapsing onto the couch.

"Harry, man, you're shaking," Ron commented as he sat down next Draco in Hermione's armchair right as Hermione was about to sit there. She scowled at Ron and sat on Draco instead. He smiled, brushing the hair away from her face.

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous, have you noticed?" he snapped, leaning back and relaxing. His hands twitched as he struggled to keep himself under control.

"Harry, cool it man, you don't have to kill your own father," Draco said, trying to make him feel better. It did the exact opposite though, as Harry huddled together, grabbing his knees and rocking back and forth.

"I have to fight the bloody _Dark Lord _and you and you think your father is bad? Come off it, I have to defeat the most evil wizard in centuries and I'm 17 years old," he said tiredly, and leaned back against the arm rest, although he seemed a little more calm.

"Ok, so you have a point. Listen man, it looks like you need some of Madam Pomfrey's anxiety potions and a lot of sleep. We'll always be here for you," Draco said sincerely and Hermione smiled at him.

"Ok…" Harry said, and he got up, Ron following him, crossing the room, muttering goodbyes and then leaving. Hermione smiled at Draco before getting up and crossing the room.

"Are you coming?" Hermione asked, snapping Draco out of the trance he was in, and he followed her upstairs. She lay down on Draco's bed, and he lay down next to her. She pushed him backward, landing on top of him, laughing and pressing her lips lightly against his.

She raised her eyebrows at him, and made to unbutton the buttons on his shirt. His hands stopped hers, but only briefly. She resumed the progress, Draco making it quite difficult for her. He was trying to get his point across.

"Are we having sex or not?" she asked, angry at her little progress on getting his shirt off. He laughed, sliding out from underneath her, and lay down next to her instead.

"We don't have too," he said simply and she cocked her head to the side.

"Sick of me already?" she said grumpily, but he put his arm around her shoulders, snorting at her comment.

"Oh no, definitely not. I enjoy you very much."

"Good. So what's wrong with you then?" she asked, kissing him on lips desperately.

"Nothing. I'm just not in the mood."

"Oh," she said, the sound of disappoint in her voice quite clear.

"Is this going to become a nightly thing? Because that sounds fun…" Draco said, thoughts about Hermione already entering his mind.

"Perhaps, if you're a good boy," she said and tousled his hair. He smirked at her.

"I prefer being the bad boy, sorry to disappoint you."

"Why? I like you better when your nice to people. What you said to Harry, and how you hang out with them, that makes me so happy Draco," she said, kissing him on the mouth lightly.

"I like being nice to them too," he said softly, so she could barely hear him. "I like having real friends, who care about you, you know?"

"More than having sex?" she asked, and Draco laughed.

"You're pushing it Hermione."

"Pushing it is your job, Draco," she said cleverly and Draco smacked her gently.

"Oh, trying to get technical on me are you Ms. Smarty-pants? Well I feel that I have to punish you now." He said jokingly. Hermione feigned mock horror. But her face turned serious, but Draco could see the smirk growing on her face.

"Believe me, whatever you do to me, is the exact opposite of punishment Draco."

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**A/n- And so the end of chapter 20. Wow, twenty chapters, quite a long time. Hate to see this fic go, but that unhappy time will be quite soon. I can see the end in a month or so. Read and review please!**

**Reviews! Yay! **

_Zarroc- Thanks for dropping a review. _

_Mistressofmiddleearth- Wow thanks! Yeah it's hard but 'm getting into the system now. Thanks for the support. _

_Soccerpixie3000- It's actually in Azurestar's C2, which is cool. I love the fluffy, but the dark is coming in the next few chapters. Hope you liked this chapter, and thanks for sticking with my story. _

_Azurestar- lol. Thanks for review and the C2 adding thing. Sorry again._

_Leaves- Thanks for all the help, and thanks for the great criticism. I didn't even realize that thing about unsigned review thing, I'll fix that if I can figure out how. Thanks for the review!_

_xFloridaGalx- I am trying the whole writing thing, lol. It worked! Glad you like the fic, keep reading and reviewing please. I'll check out your story as soon as I find a bit of time. _

_Felinefairy91- Wow, two days, nice. Glad you like, and I hope you like this chapter as well. I look forward to another review from you._

_BlackOwl892006- Thanks, for everything, you seem like a wacko(lol jk). Hope you like this chapter as well, review please as usual. I look forward to your reviews, as always. _

_Jesstergrl- Haha, hope this is fast and good. Review and tell me ). Thnaksss_

_Mouse10- Thanks, hope you like. Thanks for your support. _

**Wow. I mean holyyy shitt…lots of reviews, comments, support and criticism. This is awesome, thanks you guys! **

**Until next chapter(hopefully next week sometime), **

**Krista**


	21. March 16th

**A/n- Omgosh, I'm back. I know it kinda took awhile, but this whole 'going to school thing' is really annoying. I think we all know how it is. Well, welcome back to Enemies Clash. I hope to be sharing a good chapter with you guys today. Crosses fingers **

**On another note, I hope you guys had a happy Halloween and didn't get sick by eating too much candy(if you celebrate Halloween). I certainly had a wonderful time trick or treating and hanging out with my boyfriend…ex-boyfriend…whatever! This is not the point!**

**Drop a review if you wish ). I certainly wish you would. **

**The beginning is a little boring but the end is worth it. **

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March 16th

"What's the date?" Draco asked Hermione distractedly. Hermione looked up from her charms homework briefly to check her watch, shaking her head.

"It's the 15th Draco. The same as it was two minutes ago when you asked me the same question. Will you stop badgering me?" she complained as she scrunched back over her work, scribbling down a few more words before Draco spoke again.

"What time is it?" he asked.

Hermione glanced at her watch. "10:56. Three minutes later than it was when you ask me last time." She continued to work, flipping through the pages of her book to look up an answer. She froze as Draco's voice cut through the silence again.

"How many days until April 1st?" he asked again. Hermione sighed and set her quill down on the table gently, but Draco still noticed the anger in that simple motion. She turned swiftly on the spot and gave him a piercing glance, the third he had got today.

"16 days Draco. Bloody hell, hasn't it sunk in by now?" she replied and Draco scoffed.

"I'm just nervous that's all. Don't you snap at me!" he said. He was way too tense for this.

"Don't order me around, you can't tell me what to do!" she yelled at him, sick of his shit.

"Why don't you just take a break from homework and I don't know- take a look at what is going on in front of you. There are hardly any kids left in Hogwarts, have you noticed? Or has your nose been buried in your books too long?" he replied smartly back. His attitude had worsened each day they got closer to the final battle, and Hermione had taken the bulk of this.

"How dare you," she said and slapped him, gathering her things and marching to the door.

"Hermione wait!" he yelled, already realizing the mistake.

"No! I'm sick of your shit Draco! For the past week all you've done is sat and moped and bothered me. I'm trying to take my mind off this battle and all you can do is yell at me because of it. When I'm ready to deal with you, I'll find you. Don't go looking for me," she screamed at him and slammed the portrait door closed in his face. He threw up his arms and punched the wall.

He dragged himself up the stairs to wallow in self pity some more. An owl was waiting for him on the windowsill, and it hooted as he entered his room. He walked over, untied the letter and scanned it briefly.

_When you get this letter, meet me and the others in my office. _

_Prof. Dumbledore_

Draco groaned but did a complete turn-around, marching down the steps and out the portrait door. By the time he had reached Dumbledore's office, completely out of breath, everyone was there. And the mood was grim. Harry was exchanging dark looks with everyone except Dumbledore, whom he seemed to be ignoring.

"What…did…I…miss?" Draco panted, his hands on his knees. Hermione ran over to him, hugging him and sobbing into his shoulder. His eyes widened but patted her on the back.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm sorry…" she whispered in his ear. "I love you, you know that right?"

"Yes. I love you too. But what's going on?" he said, but louder. Hermione turned around and faced Dumbledore.

"I've received intelligence from the Order that the death eaters are situated in your Manor now. We attack tomorrow," Dumbledore said calmly, yet the sparkle that could light up a room wasn't present in his eye any longer. Draco wondered where it had gone.

"T-tomorrow?" Draco said. He glanced over at Harry, whose hands were shaking slightly, to Ron, who was as white faced as a ghost, and back to Hermione, who had a face full of worry. He put his arms around her tighter. "I'm ready," he said confidently.

"Right then. Get some sleep, all of you. We have learned what is needed, I just hope you all can put it to use as soon as possible. But please, do this first. I want all of you to round up all the 6th and 7th tears, and have them sleep in the Heads' rooms tonight. It's better if we keep you all together," Dumbledore rumbled quickly, and finally shooed them all away.

"I will fetch you at dawn," he said finally before the door snapped shut.

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"Will you all friggen' shut up!" Draco yelled over the noise level. The Slytherins immediately quieted down, as well as the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, but the Gryffindors just seemed to chat on and on. "That means you Gryffindorks!" he yelled again and everyone shut up.

"Thanks Draco," Harry sneered and took over. "Everyone, go to sleep. I know that we're all nervous because of tomorrow, but we need sleep. Please, just sleep."

Draco barely slept that night. He kept waking up next to Hermione, shivering all over and drenched with sweat. Hermione wasn't any better; she went to sleep earlier than Draco and still she looked just as tired as him. Her face was pale, almost as pale as Draco's.

"Ready?" he said as Dumbledore entered and everyone snapped to attention. They were all wearing light robes, with fists clenched tightly around their wands. Dumbledore nodded to them all and proceeded to show them out of the door. Draco entwined his fingers with Hermione and gave her hand a squeeze as they walked through the empty corridors, their shoes making almost no noise.

Hermione gulped next to him as they passed through the front doors and onto the lawn, down to the quidditch field. There was a huddle of people standing there, drawing their cloaks around them. It was chilly for a March day. There was no snow on the ground, but the grass crunched beneath their feet. Draco smiled reassuringly at Hermione before stepping forward onto the pitch.

"Separate into groups. Hufflepuffs go with Ron and this group of the Order," Dumbledore announced, pointing to a group of Order members. "Slytherins with Draco and that group," he said, pointing again. "Harry with the Gryffindors and this group, and Ravenclaws go with Hermione and the rest. Quickly now!"

The group separated quickly; Draco pushed his lips lightly onto Hermione's before letting go and joining the Slytherins. Hermione took her place with the Ravenclaws. 'I love you' he mouthed to her. 'I love you too' she mouthed back.

"We can all apparate here?" Dumbledore asked them all. Everyone nodded their heads or said 'yes' very quietly. "The Ministry officials will be there shortly after us. We plan to start the battle. If someone is hurt, get them off to the side and perform healing spells and get back out there. We'll need all of you. Are we ready?"

They began walking to Hogsmeade. The many citizens that lived there were watching, waiting, and waved them off as they passed into the gates. "On three, apparate to Malfoy Manor. Here is the picture," he said, holding it up. It passed through many hands, and Draco looked at his house, a site where evil things would take place at. Not that they haven't before.

"1…" its so real Draco said inside his head. "2…" is this really happening? "3…" Now! He apparated on the spot and seconds later was outside his house. People popped up behind him. Seconds later, death eaters in masks and dark black robes were spilling out of the manor. They had obviously been expecting an attack. Dumbledore is so unprepared.

His group headed straight at the people and Draco knew how real this was. This wasn't a game; his life and other people's were at risk. He could die and so could anyone else that he loved. Hermione…he thought desperately.

That thought was pushed from his mind as a death eater threw a curse at him, preparing himself for a duel. Draco deflected it easily and shot a stunning spell at him, and it hit him in the chest. Draco bound him with ropes using a spell and stepped over him, searching for his father. The masks had been removed, and Draco spotted the platinum hair from far away.

His eyes locked into Lucius's steel ones, resembling his own, yet much colder. He ran straight at him, stopping only feet away from him, his wand raised high and a smirk to match his father's.

"Going to kill me boy?" he said, barely in a whisper. Draco's smirk did not falter at all; his eyes didn't move. His fist clenched the wand tighter than it already was.

"I plan on it," he said slowly, much louder than Lucius. His glare in his eye looked like it could kill; his eyes were so sharp Draco thought they may just poke him. **(POKE!)**

"I always knew there was something wrong with you boy," he spat. Draco scoffed at him.

"You mean; I was a better person than my father? I suppose that's true, then." His father growled at him and brought his wand out. Draco raised his and sent a curse at his father. He dodged it, sending another one back at Draco. They fought mercilessly for a few minutes before Draco got hit. He hit the ground hard and sprawled backwards.

He quickly summoned his wand before his father did and stood up; glaring death rays back at Lucius. "You are a despicable creature. You are not fit to walk this earth. I will never regret this." He raised his wand in slow motion and yelled "AVADA KEDAVRA!" as time seemed to freeze.

There was a deathly silence as the world seemed to turn to watch Lucius's shocked body fall to the ground with a thud. Draco stared at his cold white cheeks and deathly gray eyes, now still in his head. There was no blood, no sign of injury. Draco dropped to the ground onto his knees, panting hard, still staring at his father's lifeless body.

"Draco!" someone screamed and Draco looked up just in time to dodge a curse sent at him.

"Auntie Bella?" he managed to gasp before ducking another curse.

"Shut up, you are no nephew of mine! You were always foolish!" she snarled before sending a spell that hit Draco in the stomach. He began to fall back, and saw the darkness closing in on him. He fell into someone's arms, it was so comfy. He blinked his eyes; he could still see. The person dropped him and ran off to fight, leaving him alone to fight off his Aunt.

"Beg for mercy boy," she spat, stepping closer, wand raised.

"Never," Draco managed to choke out before falling over on all fours again. "I'll-I'll fight you!" he said standing up, the feeling back in his legs. He barely deflected off another curse, and almost stumbled in a rock in the ground.

"Draco behind you!" someone screamed and Draco whipped around to see his aunt Bella standing there, wand aloft, and a green beam coming straight at him. Before he could duck; before he could prepare for his doom, a figure soared through the air, catching the killing curse in midair. Draco gasped as his Aunt fell to the ground, a killing curse hitting her in the back. But it was no good; the damage had been done.

Ron Weasley was dead.

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**A/n- Ok! Chapter done. I reeeeallly liked this chapter. I feel like I wrote it really well for once. Seriously! Complaints, compliments, whatever! I'm up for it all! Please review! There's only a few chapters left and I seriously want to get at least 100 reviews! I would love that! **

_Sweet Deal! Reviews…_

_Azurestar- I know right? Sweet! Thanks for the review…as always…_

_Spiritedwings- Thanks! Hope you liked this part too!_

_Irishkitty122- Thanks for your advice, but usually I don't go back and edit them unless I miss something totally big or like something doesn't make sense. Thanks for your review, glad you like!_

_Mouse10- I think we do. Thanks!_

_BlackOwl892006- I need socks too, matter of fact. This one totally took me a long time, and its most likely you've gone through many pairs of socks, waiting for me…Hehe…I'm crazy…_

_Slytherin-91- Actually, it's unfortunate that I'm not going to the midnight show. It's too late, the movie is too long, and I have school the next morning. I wouldn't get home until like 3:30, and I don't want to fall asleep during the movie(though I'm sure that won't be a problem). It looks SUPER GOOD! I'm going to see it the Saturday after that Thursday, and I already have my tickets. So excited… Can't wait…Comes out in a week! Woohoo! Celebrate! I hope you enjoy! Glad you like the story and hope you enjoyed this part(also). _

_Rosha- Major fan right here too! Sweet deal…glad you like. _

_Tryix- Isn't it? Not to be conceited…or anything…hope you liked this chapter!_

_slytherin princess 05- don't be scared! Haha…Really glad you like!_

_Soccerpixie3000- Glad you think so! I like crude humor…haha…_

_Sexydraco- Have I mentioned I do think Draco is sexy? If not, then look back. He really is, haha. Hope you liked the next chapter, glad you like my story. _

_LOTS OF REVIEWS I LOVE IT. THANK YOU ALL. YOU GUYS ROCK MY WORLD!_

_Kthxbye_

_Krista  
_


	22. Sadness and Birthday Wishes

**A/n- I'm definatley back. I had to update, I couldn't leave you guys like that! It's so cruel…I'll be updating my other story soon guys, don't you worry. But I know you guys wanted me to continue with this. The amount of reviews is already unbelievable for only a few short hours! To give you a timeframe, its Friday, and I hope to be done this by Saturday morning and post it then. But I don't know…things come up. **

**Thanks for all your reviews, please continue! **

**By the way, my next story(Winning her Heart) is almost complete, and then I'll type it up, and it'll be up. I'll let you guys know before I do that though. **

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Sadness and Birthday Wishes

Draco's breath caught in his throat and he gasped, falling down to the ground again, kneeling by Ron's body. He turned him over and looked at the deathly pale of his face. His eyes were shut tight, and a piece of paper fell out of his pocket. Draco barely noticed it; his face was screwed up, trying not to cry.

He may not have liked Ron very much, but the thought of him sacrificing himself so Draco could live was odd. He finally picked up the paper and read it. It was from Ron, and obviously had been written very recently.

_If you are reading this Hermione or Malfoy, I must be gone. I wrote this so you would understand what I had to do. I want you guys to be happy, you deserve that chance. If I died, it's because I sacrificed myself for your well being. Don't cry, it's not worth it. I will always love you Hermione, tell Parvati that I'll miss her, and tell Harry he's the best mate someone could ever ask for. Please don't forget me. _

_Ron W._

Draco couldn't help himself. He dragged Ron over to the side of the battle and sobbed. Draco Malfoy had barely ever cried before. He had never been in a situation where he had no control over something or somebody but himself, and here he was, in the midst of a battle fighting for everything he believed in.

"SHUT UP!" Draco heard Harry yell. The battle between him and Voldemort had obviously started. He got up, slowly, brushing the tears from his face, and limped over to where someone had fallen. He barely glanced at the face; it was a death eater.

"Dra-co," someone nearby choked out. He whirled around to see Blaise clutching his chest, gasping for breath. Draco grabbed him and carried him off to the side, using a healing spell on his chest. His breathing became more regular. Draco pulled out a potion and handed it to him and he drank it down.

"Thanks mate," he said and smiled.

"I'm glad you didn't become a death eater," Draco said, standing up. Blaise nodded and took control of his surroundings.

"Whoa, who killed Weasel?" he asked and smirked. Draco wanted to punch him but refrained from it. He grabbed his shirt collar and brought him level to his face.

"He took a killing curse from my aunt Bella."

"Tough luck."

"For me," Draco finished.

"For you? He sa-sacrificed himself?" he managed to say. Draco threw him on the ground.

"Yes," he spat and walked away, leaving Blaise sitting there alone and confused. He hurried over to the final battle. He passed by Dumbledore, who was fighting three death eaters at once, Professor McGonagall, who was having a one on one battle with Rookwood, and by Remus Lupin, who furiously dueling with a burly, fat death eater with an evil grin on his face.

He flat out ran to the scene of Voldemort and Harry, keeping his eye on them the whole time. Hermione was no where to be seen, and Draco grew worried. But he could find her after; she was probably on the side, healing people.

"Give up Potter," Voldemort said quietly, but his laugh was mirthless; maniacal.

"I'd rather not," Harry said calmly, deflecting Voldemort's killing curse easily. He side stepped a bit and shot curse at him. It hit Voldemort but its effects were unknown.

"That hurt a bit," Voldemort said lightly and shot a spell at Harry, who had to jump over it to get away.

"Point being. How about this!" Harry shouted, raising his wand and sending a curse at him. At first, it seemed like it didn't effect him, but then it hit him. They were using nonverbal spells, but they weren't just any spells. Harry had just hit him with 'Crucio'. Wow, nice one Potter, Draco thought as the Dark Lord crumpled to the ground and started shaking like a child who was scared. A small scream let itself from his throat, but it turned into a cold laugh.

"No sense in laughing, you're wasting your time," Harry responded and shot another crucio at him, this time out loud, and the curse was more powerful. Voldemort screamed again, this time for longer, and collapsed, weak, on the ground.

"Watch it Draco," Harry warned him and Draco side-stepped a curse that was directed at him from behind. He shot a stunning spell in his direction and it hit the death eater's leg and he fell down, unconscious. Draco laughed cruelly and turned back to the fight. Harry had someone fallen over, and Voldemort was cornering him.

Draco resisted the urge to send a spell at Voldemort; he knew Harry didn't want anyone else involved. He did the next best thing. "Don't die on me Harry! I'd miss you!" he screamed on the top of his lungs, distracting Voldemort long enough for Harry to concentrate hard.

"Evil, maniacal, crazy bastard, you are done," Draco heard Harry mutter. "Avada Kedavra!" he yelled and Voldemort staggered back, clutching his chest before falling over backwards. "Yes!" Harry said, punching his fist into the air and running towards Draco, hugging him like a brother.

"Where's Ron? I can't wait to tell him," he said quickly, wiping dirt and sweat off his face. Draco hung his head, and shook it.

"What?" Harry asked.

"He's…dead. He's gone Harry."

"W-what?" he choked. He shook his head but he knew it was true, as the tears began to fall. He fell to the ground, pounding it with his fist.

"You'll hate me when I tell you, but you have to know. He died…he sacrificed himself for me," Draco managed to get out before walking away. He kept walking until he found Hemione, lying on the ground, exhausted.

"Hermione! Are you ok?" he said anxiously, and she peered up at him.

"Yeah, just tired…" she said and yawned. The death eaters were falling now, one by one, as everyone teamed up to kill them.

"Voldemort is gone," Draco said and she smiled lightly. "And my father…"

"I'm happy."

"Don't be. Someone you cared for is gone. Forever."

She gasped and fell into his arms. "Who is it?" she sobbed.

"Ron. He-he sacrificed himself for me. My Aunt Bella tried using a killing curse on me from the back and Ron just jumped in front of me and took it. Then someone killed her, but it didn't matter. He was already gone. I'm sorry," he said, letting her sob uncontrollably on her shoulder.

"I don't blame you," she said softly, leaning into his chest.

"Thanks. It still makes me feel bad though. Oh, here." He handed her the letter Ron had written and she cried softly as she read it. He folded it and put it in her pocket.

"He wanted us to be happy," she said and tried to smile.

"Are we?" he asked her and she almost laughed.

"I think so. I love you Draco Malfoy."

"I love you too Hermione Granger."

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"The brave have fallen, but evil was defeated. Everyone here was a part of that. I respect and honor each and everyone one of you. The students of the school will return tomorrow, and we will have a proper feast then. But for now, let's bow our heads to those who have fallen for a cause."

Draco bowed his head. Next to him was Hermione, who was sniffling, and next to her was Harry, his head in his hands and bags under his eyes. Draco hadn't heard him speak a word to anyone since Draco had told him about Ron.

"First of the fallen for us to honor is Severus Snape, such a brave man he was. We have a few people to speak on his behalf." After the speeches, everyone bowed their heads once again. The same happened for Ernie Macmillan, Mad-Eye Moody, and a few Order members as well as Ministry officials.

"And finally, last, but not least by any means, Ron Weasley. We also a few words to be said by a few people. Draco, would you please," Dumbledore said, and Draco stood up, following the rows to the podium. He looked down at his shoes and then back at the crowd before beginning.

"I've known Ron since my first year at Hogwarts. I can't say I was his biggest fan. In fact, we didn't get very close until recently. He was a brave man, a man he was, and I respected him. He was best friends with my girlfriend Hermione, and I learned to get along with him as I got closer to her."

The crowd listened with bated breath as he continued his speech. Not a sound could be heard but the sobs from Mrs. Weasley.

"I stood on that field in my prime, just as Ron did. I fought for our side bravely, as I know he did. Ron surprised me that day, when he took a killing curse that was aimed for me. I respect and honor Ron Weasley. He sacrificed himself so I could live; and I'll never forget him. I'll never forget what he did for me, and he will forever live in my heart."

He walked away from the podium and took his seat by Hermione again. "Harry Potter." Harry took a deep breath and stood up, shakily, and walked up to the podium. He leaned against it for support.

"Ron was the best mate anyone could ever ask for. I've known him since I stepped foot onto the Hogwarts Express in my first year of Hogwarts. I could go on forever about how we had fun, and how he inspired me. Without him here I feel like part of me is gone. I respect what he did for Draco, and if I had been him, I would have made the same decision. I will forever miss him, and I'll never forget this. He was always there for me, and I will always be here for him. I've learned from since I was born I was special; I was different. But when I was with Ron, I felt like I was the same as everyone else. His family became my family. Almost everybody in my life that I cared for has left me, but I stand strong. I know they'll watch over me forever and I don't want to disappoint them. Please, raise your glasses with me, and have a toast, to Ronald Weasley. The brave has truly fallen."

Everyone in the entire Hall raised their glasses and drained them. Harry did the same and then walked back to his seat and collapsed into it. Draco saw him break down, and cry. And everyone in the Hall, men and woman alike, had tears in their eyes. The woman's spilled out while the men held back. Draco cried next to Hermione, who was bawling her eyes out.

Draco could never, would never, forget tonight.

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"Harry, mate!" Draco yelled through the Gryffindor common room one Saturday morning, weeks after the battle.

"Hold on, I'm getting dressed!" he answered back and Draco waited at the bottom of the stairs for him to come down. When he arrived, he was dressed in light, Slytherin green robes to match Draco's.

"I like those colors Potter. Ready to go?" Draco asked and Harry nodded and laughed, shouldering his broom.

"I needed a change. Besides, Slytherin isn't so bad. Where's Hermione?" Harry answered as they began walking down to the pitch.

"Shopping with Ginny."

"On your birthday?" **(A/n- I don't know when his birthday is and I can't remember if they say its after March or April)** Harry asked.

"She promised a birthday shag later," he said and they both laughed. Harry smiled.

"Well, there's something. Better than shopping anyways," he shrugged and Draco nodded in agreement.

They had reached the pitch. Harry ran into the changing rooms and nicked a snitch from the ball crate, and let it go. Draco and Harry enjoyed a day of quidditch; flying around, chasing each other, and catching the snitch.

They left the pitch when night had fallen, to find Hermione and Ginny waiting for them in the Heads' common room. "Where have you two been?" Hermione asked as Draco gave her a hug.

"Playing quidditch, duh!" Harry said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. They all sat down, Ginny and Harry cuddling on one couch, Draco and Hermione on the other, talking and laughing.

"It's times like these when I really miss Ron," Hermione said, and the group stopped laughing.

"Yeah," Harry said, looking at Ginny, who had the same look on her face as Harry.

"He would have wanted us to be happy you guys. He's probably looking down, laughing at how we talk about missing him," Draco said, and the group turned back to conversation about quidditch.

After a few hours of talking, laughing, and kissing, Harry and Ginny got up and announced they were going to bed. They headed up to Hermione's room, where they had basically moved into, and Draco and Hermione went up to Draco's. One by one they took showers and got into their pj's, and finally said goodnight.

"I'm sound proofing the room, don't worry you guys," Hermione assured them as they shut the door. Ginny gave her a wink before the door snapped shut. Hermione performed a silence charm over Draco's room, and then joined him in bed.

"Happy Birthday Draco," she said as she threw off her bathrobe. Draco smirked.

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**A/n- Ok, Chapterover. Finished in one day. Seriously. It's still Friday, only like two hours later. I seriously hope you guys liked it. I really liked this part; it almost made me cry though. One or two chapters left, I'm not sure. I'm almost positive there won't be a sequel, but not so sure. Tell me whether or not you want one, because now I'm considering it. **

_Reviews! Yipee! _

_Slytherin-91- Yay for Draco! Haaha, hope you like…_

_Blackowl892006- I know, it took so long. Thanks for the socks, but Christmas is still pretty far away…not too far…yay…I hope you liked._

_Tryix- He is dead. I was so sad writing that part, but it had to be done. _

_Hpottergurl- Its not that sad is it? That wasn't supposed to be the point…well actually it was, muahaha…thanks for your review._

_Spiritedwings- Thanks…hope this was soon enough haha._

_Soccerpixie3000- That Draco! So much to say, so little time. Thanks for sticking with the story, I hope you liked this chapter keep reviewing! _

_Rose- Thanks. Pretty sad, I know…_

_lok0x0hp- You were still in shock? I liked that chapter too, actually…Thanks for your review…hope that this update was fast enough._

_Marieldmisme- Thanks…yeah…Ron's dead…_

_Sapphirerosha110- Yeah, I see where your going with that. I did previously write a fanfiction with Hermione/Draco, but I deleted it because it was bad. Finally I got this one up, loved it, got reviewers/readers, and we are all good, I'm almost done. I love Hermione/Draco, and it sucks it will never happen in the real books, for obvious reasons. Thanks for reviewing. _

_Zarroc- Oh yes, it is Ron. Muahahaha. _

_Mouse10- The point of the story- keep the readers guessing. Saweet, I succeeded. _

**Ok guys, after reading your reviews, I know you were sad about Ron dying. Me too. I almost cried while writing this chapter, realizing I had actually killed off one of my characters. Well, not mine, JKR's, but still sad. But, I knew since I started writing this story he was going to die. It was just the way it went. Sorry, but it is my story. I liked the way it came out, if you didn't then, I don't know…too bad? For all of you that did stick by my story and liked it, thanks!**

**KRISTA IS OUTT, PCEEE!**


	23. Surprises

**A/n- Damn this school schedule and everything about it! So annoying, the way I couldn't type up a new chapter. Anyways, it's here now, so hopefully you guys are too excited to realize that it took a teeny bit longer than expected. **

**On a different note, I have sent you guys 'review responses' through those private messaging thingers. So hopefully you've read them, that's how I'll be responding to them. **

**Let me know if you want a sequel or an epilogue…I actually have a good idea for a sequel, but whatever you guys want. **

**On to chapter 23! Second to last readers! **

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Surprises

Almost a month has passed since Draco's birthday. Draco and Hermione were much closer, as well as Draco and Harry. Harry had always said no one could ever replace Ron, but Draco was doing a damn well good job. Right now, they were all sitting under a tree on the grounds in the bright sunlight, the little 1st and 2nd years running around crazily, and celebrating the end of exams.

"I'm beat," Draco announced. He had just finished taking his Transfiguration N.E.W.T just like everyone else, and that was the last one. He had had many sleepless nights, worrying about his grades and his life.

"God, me too. Can you believe tonight is the last night we'll sleep in our dorms?" Hermione asked, cuddling closer to Draco. They all shook their heads, except for Ginny, who was grinning.

"Not me," she replied. They all laughed and Harry brought her closer.

"Are you going to be a good girl when I'm not around to watch you?" he asked her and she smiled at him.

"Of course. I'd never cheat on you," she said faithfully and placed a kiss on his lips. Beside him, Hermione grinned. She always liked to see a happy ending.

Draco's insides gave a squirm. He was nervous about tonight. It was his final dance with Hermione, and he still wasn't completely sure about what he was about to do.

"Draco I'm going to go and get ready with Ginny, alright? Get ready in Harry's room alright?" Hermione asked and Draco nodded, giving her a quick kiss before her and Ginny scampered off towards the castle.

"So Draco, what's up? You have got a pretty weird look on your face," Harry asked and Draco leaned back into the tree, relaxing.

"I can't do this." Of course, Harry had no idea what he was talking about. He hadn't told anything to anybody about what was going to happen tonight.

"Do what? Leave? I know its going to be hard but-" but he was silenced by Draco's hand.

"Not that. Promise if I tell you, you tell no one, especially Ginny." Harry nodded and shook his hand. "I'm proposing to Hermione tonight."

Harry's eyes widened but the Boy-Who-Lived laughed and smiled. "Wow, man! Finally!"

"What do you mean, finally?"

"Well, Ginny was telling me about Hermione was wondering when you were going to ask her."

"Ok. Good. So, she wants to marry me. It's weird, I'm only 18. But, I love her, you know?" he said, letting Harry know his confused feelings about Hermione.

"Age doesn't matter. Come on, we need to get ready for the Leaving Feast."

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Draco had fixed his robes about 5 times already and he still wasn't satisfied. Not that there was anything wrong with them at all, he just needed something to keep his mind of his nerves. Inside his front pocket was a small velvet black box, and inside that was a beautiful diamond ring, that Draco had spent quite a lot of money on.

"Ok, ready. Don't worry mate, you're gunna do fine," Harry said as he walked out of bathroom, fixing his tie. He clapped a hand on Draco's shoulder and he smiled.

They both walked out into the Gryffindor common room, where everyone from 4th year and up was congregating, waiting for the prefects to give the OK to go down to the Feast/Ball. Most of the girls were crowded in groups, whispering and pointing to their dates.

Parvati and Lavender shuffled into view, shaking Draco and Harry's hand. Parvati looked nervous about something, but before they could say anything, she turned to Harry. "Can I speak to you for a minute Harry?" Parvati asked, and Harry shrugged.

"Sure. Draco, I'll meet you in the Heads room in 5 minutes, ok?" Draco nodded and walked out the portrait alone. He walked through the halls alone until he reached the portrait, which he entered immediately.

Hermione and Ginny were already down there. Hermione smiled as he walked into the room and ran and hugged him. "You look beautiful," he commented, and Hermione smiled.

"You clean up well." Draco smirked and noticed Ginny's worried look.

"Where's Harry?" she asked anxiously.

"Parvati needed to tell him something. He said he'd catch up." At that moment, Harry rushed into the portrait, a weird look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked him, knowing full well he looked odd. Harry smiled and looked away.

"Nothing. Let's go, the Gryffindors were just told they could go to the Ball now. We might be a little late," he said, grabbing Ginny's hand gently and leading the way down to the feast, Draco and Hermione in tow behind him. When they reached the hall, there were people standing there waiting for the Heads to arrive so the dance could begin.

Draco and Hermione led the way into a spectacular looking hall, which the prefects had planned and decorated on their own. Draco caught a smirk from Harry before Hermione leaned into him on the dance floor. All of the 7th years enjoyed a nice calm dance before settling down to dinner.

Harry was oddly quiet throughout the whole dinner, and Parvati kept shooting him glances between mouthfuls of food. Draco kept quiet and didn't say anything, but promised himself to ask Harry privately about it later on.

"Come on, let's dance." Draco allowed himself to be led to the dance floor by Hermione. On the side of him, Harry and Ginny were swaying to the slow music too. For all the 7th years, this dance was a subdued event. It was sad to see Hogwarts go, and a big loss for the lot of them.

The dance passed quickly, mainly because Draco danced the whole night, not wanting to waste any opportunity to be with Hermione. But his insides were churning as Dumbledore asked Hermione and Draco to come up to the stage.

"The Heads have a few words to say to their fellow classmates, now that the other has filed out." It was true, the younger students had been sent to bed. Only the 7th years were left. Harry had pleaded with Dumbledore, and Ginny had been allowed to stay, along with a few girls or boys who had older dates.

Hermione went up first. "It's been a really long year. A long 7 years actually. I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed being at Hogwarts, alone with all of you. My life was a real turn around when I found out I was a witch. I've learned so much from this experience, and I hope we all stay in touch."

She left the podium, and Draco stepped up. He literally thought he was going to be sick. "Since I was two years old, I knew I was a wizard. When I went to Hogwarts, my whole life changed. Even though it wasn't always good, I loved it all the time. This year, it was particularly good. I got exactly what I needed in my life; my girlfriend Hermione Granger." He took a deep breath and stepped off the podium.

He got on one knee in front of her and the entire year of students. His heart was pounding almost out of his chest. "Hermione Granger, you are the love of my life. I don't know what I would be or where I would be without you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Hermione, will you marry me?" he said, showing her the ring in the box in front of her. She gasped and her face had gone a deep red.

"Yes," she managed to choke out before spilling out tears of joy onto his shoulder. He slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed her lightly. He turned to Dumbledore, and the teachers, who were smiling. Professor McGonagall was crying. The crowd was clapping and Ginny ran up on stage and enveloped Hermione in a hug, who had a smile planted on her make-up ran face.

The whole crowd was laughing and cheering as they began to file out of the hall. Some of them had tears in their eyes.

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It was 12:30 and the four kids were on the banks of the lake, dipping their feet into the cold water. Hermione and Draco were holding hands and Harry and Ginny were hugging each other.

"I'm going to miss this place," Hermione commented.

"It's not going to be the same without you guys," Ginny said, and leaned into Harry.

"I have some news guys," Harry announced suddenly. "It's good."

"What's up?"

"Well, first thing first. I…I'm going to be coming back here." Hermione looked at him weirdly. "Dumbledore offered me the Defense against the Dark Arts job, and I took it. Now I can be with Ginny if I want."

Draco smiled and hugged him, Ginny was in tears, and Hermione just looked at him. "I'm so proud of you Harry."

"That's not it. I…well…I don't know how to say this," he said uneasily, twitching in his spot.

"What is it? You ok?" Draco asked, shaking his shoulders.

"Parvati's 3 months pregnant," he choked out. "And it's Ron's."

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**A/n- Hello, nice children who won't hurt me because of that. So, I've decided there's going to be a sequel, as well as another chapter. The next chapter is going the wedding, if you guys wanted to know. And then I'll be giving you guys a teaser for the sequel, and then I'll begin writing it. Any ideas on the title, let me know! Because I'm not sure what to call it. It'll be about Hermione and Draco, duh! **

**Review please! Let me know what you think, and any ideas on a title for a sequel! **

**Ok, fanfiction is being gay and won't load right for me. So if this is out on Sunday instead of Saturday(today) then that's not MY fault. **

**Krista!**


	24. LAST CHAPTER

**A/N- More surprises! I'm back, so soon! I hate leaving you guys hanging there. I felt really bad, and as sad as it, I have to wrap this up. **

**YOU GUYS WILL PROBABLY WANT TO READ THIS! **

**Ok, so after this chapter, I promised a teaser chapter for my next story. I'm going to call it the epilogue, but it's really just going to show bits of what's to come or a summary of some sort. But there's an important question. How do you guys want the story?**

**How do you want the story:**

**In Ginny's POV at Hogwarts, switching between hers and Harry's lives **

**OR**

**Hermione and Draco's life after school, dealing with jobs, houses, money, and stuff. **

**I want to do Hermione/Draco but whatever you guys want. I may just lean my way in the end, but I want to see what you guys like to read. **

**Anyways, I'm introducing the FINAL CHAPTER of Enemies Clash. I'm proud of myself. Here you guys go:**

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The End of the Beginning and the Beginning of the End

"WHAT!" Hermione exclaimed, but Draco was frozen, still with a curious look on his face. Ginny was still staring at Harry with a shocked expression on her face, blinking in an odd manner.

"Parvati is pregnant with Ron's baby," Harry said, slowly this time, although Draco was positive Hermione had understood him, because there was nothing else that could have triggered that response.

"She's positive?" Draco asked. Harry gave him a look.

"She's three months along of course she's positive. How could she not be?" Harry said angrily, like Draco was being stupid on purpose.

"No, Harry, he means, is she sure it's Ron's?" Hermione said, correcting Harry's stupidity.

"She's hasn't…she hasn't been with anyone since."

"Her and Seamus are-"

"No, I mean…she hasn't _slept_ with anyone since Ron, including Seamus. And no one before Ron, so she's sure." Hermione gulped and sat back down, looking at Ginny, who was still looking weird.

"How are we going to tell mum?" Ginny whined, taking a fresh gulp of air. Hermione crawled over to Ginny and comforted her, but it was a silent affair. The boys just looked on, helpless. This was one situation where life was thrown out of control.

"Ginny? Is th-that you?" the group heard Parvati call out and Harry ran up to get her. She was still in her dress, and she was shivering.

"Parvati, what are you doing out here without a jacket? Where's Seamus?" Harry asked, sitting her down and taking off his suit jacket and giving it to her. She put it over her shoulders and brought her knees to her belly, which was starting to show how she was pregnant.

"He went to bed. I couldn't sleep I-" but she stopped and began rocking back and forth. She let out a long sigh.

"Parvati everything is going to be fine. Seamus won't leave you, is that what you're worried about?" Hermione asked, moving from soothing Ginny to Parvati.

"No. Well, he…he said he wanted to marry me. I just…I don't know how I'm going to tell my parents," she complained. "Not only am I having another man's baby than the one I'm with, I'm only 18! My parents are going to flip."

"We'll be here for you. And Seamus. And your sister."

"Padma doesn't know," she whined and laid back onto the grass, looking up into the sky. "I don't want her telling my parents."

"Let's go upstairs and talk. Harry, go get Seamus and meet us in the Heads' room. Go!" Hermione shooed him as she helped Parvati up. Draco groaned as he got up. Another long night full of drama he had to deal with.

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"Ready Hermione?" Draco murmured into her ear as she sobbed. They were standing at the gates, ready to go into Hogsmeade Station, the last time they would see Hogwarts as students. Draco held back tears that were threatening to fall, but the girls just let them flow freely down their already tearstained faces.

"Yes. Goodbye Hogwarts," she said as if the castle could hear her. She turned around and Draco and Hermione marched through the gates hand in hand, not knowing what the future could bring. But they certainly weren't looking back.

"Harry!" Draco called as he saw the boy with the messed up black hair in front of him, holding Ginny's hand. He wheeled around and Draco caught him in a friendly embrace, and Hermione hugged Ginny. Parvati and Seamus joined them, and they all entered the train. They took the Heads' compartment, considering it was the largest and they all sat.

"Are you okay Parvati?" Seamus asked, stroking her face with his hand. She nodded and leaned against him, and he put his hand on her stomach. Her frown turned into a smile and she laughed as he tickled her.

"Yeah, everything is going to go fine. We'll explain everything to my parents, and then you can go home and tell your parents," Ginny explained and Parvati nodded and smiled.

"Tell our parents what Pav?" Padma asked, entering the compartment, Terry Boot's arm snaked around her waist. Parvati gulped and removed Seamus's hand from her stomach, but Padma had noticed.

"Pav, no," she moaned, moving to get a good look at Parvati's stomach, "no."

"Padma stop I-" but Padma cut her off.

"Why didn't you tell me Pav? We're twins, you tell me everything," she said, moving the hair out of Parvati's face.

"I didn't want you telling mum and dad," she said, looking at the floor. "You were going to find out later today anyways."

"How far along?" she asked and Parvati looked away.

"Three months," she whispered, and Padma gasped. Draco watched as Terry just edged out of the compartment.

"That would mean it's..." she started.

"Ron's" Parvati finished. "Yeah."

"Oh Pav," she groaned. "It's going to be ok. Everything's going to be ok."

Everyone else stayed silent the rest of the trip, probably because no one wanted to say the wrong thing. Halfway through the trip, Terry came back and took Padma back to their compartment, probably so they could make-out before she went home.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Draco said, getting up. Hermione followed him out, not wanting to be alone with the couples.

"Was that weird or what?" Hermione asked him as he led them down the corridor.

"Yeah. Let's get another compartment. Oh, look, MY friends!" he said excitedly. Hermione snarled as he led them into a compartment with Blaise and Pansy.

"Hey guys, mind if we join you?" Apparently they didn't mind because they went right back into snogging. Draco leaned forward and caught Hermione in a kiss, which turned into making out. In the end, Draco was up against the wall and Hermione was straddling him.

Hermione climbed off and walked out into the hallway, Draco grumpily following suit. "Why did we stop?" he said angrily.

"Five minutes until we leave," she said, hurrying down the hallway, which was filling with kids. When they reached the Heads' compartment, Seamus and Parvati were heading out, and Harry and Ginny were right behind them. They pushed their way to the entrance and were the first to leave.

"Ginny! Dear! Over here!" came the shouts of Mrs. Weasley. The entire group hurried over and gave Mrs. Weasley, except for Parvati and Seamus, who just stood there awkwardly.

"And who is this?" Mr. Weasley asked, moving his glasses down his nose to get a better look at Parvati and Seamus.

"Er…let's chat at home, shall we?" Ginny asked, pleading with her eyes, and seeing that this must be important, and Mrs. Weasley nodded. The group apparated on three and they all landed in the cluttered kitchen of The Burrow.

"So what's going on?" Mrs. Weasley asked, offering them all chairs to sit on by the kitchen table. Parvati twitched nervously and leaned into Seamus for help.

"Before your son died, he and were together. And we did things…couples do…and I don't regret them…I just…well…the thing is…I'm pregnant. Three months. And my baby is Ron's," she said, pausing several times to get her bearings.

Mrs. Weasley stared and then began to sob. She grabbed Parvati and hugged her close, and Parvati was so taken back she almost fell off her chair. "Do your parents know?" she asked her. Parvati shook her head slowly.

"My first grandchild! Under different circumstances this would have been a party but…" Mrs. Weasley said but began to cry on Mr. Weasley's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley, for this happening. I just thought you deserved to know I was carrying your son's baby, that's all."

"Dear, I don't blame you. I'm so happy. Anything we can do for you just let us know. I'm sure your parents will be in contact with us once you tell them," she said, the tears wiped from her face.

"We should be going. Thank you for understanding," Seamus said at once and he and Parvati apparated out of the Burrow.

"So, any other news?" Mrs. Weasley asked, and Ginny shrieked.

"Oh yes, mother, Harry has the Defense Against the Dark Arts post for next year, so we can be together!" she screamed and Mrs. Weasley laughed.

"Wow, Harry, dear! So proud, so proud," Mrs. Weasley said and hugged him, and Mr. Weasley shook his hand.

"And-" Hermione cut in, and everyone stopped talking, "me and Draco are engaged," she finished and Mrs. Weasley shrieked and grabbed Hermione and hugged her. Hermione showed her the ring on her finger and they all admired it.

"We have to go too. I have to tell my parents and Draco's mum," Hermione said, and they gave her one last hug.

"Don't forget to stop by once and a while. Don't be strangers!" she said as they apparated away from the house. They landed right in the Granger's house, and Draco took a deep breath.

"Muggle stuff…" he muttered and Hermione sat him on a chair in the hall. It was obvious the Grangers were out.

"Listen Draco. My parents are Muggles. I'm part muggle myself, have you noticed? You proposed to me, so obviously you didn't care. Or did you forget that I'm not pureblood like you?"

"No, I…I don't care. I was just saying," he pleaded and she calmed down.

"You know that you can't continue your pureblood line right? I mean, that's the end of the Malfoy's pureblood legacy."

"Does it look like I care?" he asked and Hermione giggled. At that time, The Grangers walked into the house, gasping at Hermione and Draco, who were sitting on their kitchen chairs, laughing like there was no tomorrow.

"Well, welcome home Hermione, and…I don't know this young man," Mr. Granger said gruffly.

"Mother, Father, this is Draco Malfoy, my fiancé," Hermione said clearly and Draco would have laughed out loud at their expressions had this situation not been totally serious.

"Fiancé?" Mrs. Granger asked faintly. "Oh, Hermione, that's wonderful! Why didn't you tell us you were with a young man?"

"I haven't seen you all year. Sorry mum," she said, and Draco took this time to step forward and introduce himself formally.

"I'm happy to be with your daughter, and I'm hoping that it's alright with you, Mr. Granger," he said politely, although he seriously didn't care what her father thought about him.

"I wish you had at least told us about this Draco boy before agreeing to marry him," Hermione's father commented back, roughly shaking Draco's hand.

"We just got engaged father, you haven't missed much, don't worry. Besides, we've been through enough with his family; I don't need you guys to start now too. Please," Hermione pleaded and her father backed down a bit.

"Is this the same Malfoy who you used to call a sniveling cockroach?" her father asked and Draco smirked and drew Hermione closer to him, and she shivered.

"I think we've both changed a lot father. Anyways, we can't stay; we have to go to his house. I'll just pack my stuff and we'll get going."

"You're leaving? Where are you staying?" her mother asked and her father stiffened up.

"Mother, I'm going to live with Draco at his house," she said in a well-obviously tone.

"You have a guest bedroom?" her father asked worriedly. Draco smirked again.

"We have at least 50 bedrooms in my Manor. Although, I feel that we'll share a bed, considering we have been since Christmas, right Hermione?" he said, and he knew he'd pay dearly for that comment later.

"I see," was all Mr. Granger could manage to say.

"Well, Hermione, I guess we have a wedding to plan? How long?" her mother asked and Draco smiled.

"Next weekend." Hermione's mother's jaw dropped but she quickly smiled.

"Very well then, tomorrow we'll get a dress tomorrow. You guys should-"

"Mother, we'll handle it ok? Draco already said he'd pay for it. Stop it, just, cool it," Hermione said. "Everything is under control."

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"I'm not feeling very well Harry," Draco said as he fixed the tie on his suit. He was standing in the Church, and the ceremony was about to start. Harry, his best man, was standing behind him, trying to smile, but not getting much of that done. He and Ginny had gotten into a row earlier and he was still a bit depressed.

"At least you're getting married, Ginny doesn't even want to speak to me," he muttered angrily back. Draco turned around and clapped a hand onto his shoulder.

"She'll come around," he said just as the doors opened and music began to play. His stomach did a few flip flops. First the ring bearer and the flower girl came down, and then the rest of the wedding party, bridesmaids and groomsmen. Harry watched as Ginny walked down, and he smiled at her, and she smiled back at him, but only briefly, before taking her spot.

In the doorway appeared Hermione, attached to Mr. Granger's arm, and as she walked down the aisle towards Draco, his stomach settled, and everything fell into place. Once she was in place, she turned and smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"You're the only one that can make me smile, Hermione Granger."

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"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," were the replies that everyone gave to them as they walked into Draco's house, where the reception was being held. Hermione was sick of it.

"Hey Pav!" Hermione shouted as she saw Parvati enter the opposite door, where their friends were told to go because it was going to take forever. Draco and Hermione ditched the line of people who were offering their congratulations to the newlyweds and went to hang out with their friends.

"How'd your parents take it?" she asked and Parvati scuffed her feet on the floor.

"They were disappointed that I was 'irresponsible', but they support me and Seamus staying together. I'm living with Seamus and his parents until we can get a flat of our own," she explained, and settled back on a chair.

Eventually they all took their spots at their tables, and sat and ate dinner. Harry stood up at once and was ready for his Best Man speech. Draco was curious about what he had to say, considering Harry had kept his speech away from Draco.

"I know we're all excited here, gathered together, so soon, for the wedding of our friends, Hermione Granger, well Malfoy now, and Draco Malfoy. Draco and Hermione are my best friends, and I'm definitely happy for them. We've been through a lot, me and Hermione have. We went through disaster after disaster together, including the death of my best friend, Ron Weasley, and all of our adventures. And Draco here was there for me when I needed a friend the most. No one deserves to be happy more than these two. Let's raise our glasses, to a hopeful future for these two!"

The entire crowd raised their glasses and toasted them, most of the adults draining their glasses in one sip. Everyone clapped and then got up and danced.

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"Wow. We're married," Draco said, Hermione leaning into his chest on their bed.

"It's a weird feeling, even though I feel the same," Hermione replied and Draco laughed.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Come on, let's sleep."

"Actual sleep?"

Draco laughed. "You know what I meant. Come on, it's our wedding night," he whined and she smiled.

"Your mother?" she suggested.

"She's out."

"Fine. Alright, I just feel weird."

"Why? We've done this before."

"Not in your house."

"It's been THAT long? Holy crap, we need to get a move on."

Hermione laughed. "Ok, ok."

"Cheers to the end of the beginning," Draco said.

"And the beginning of the end," Hermione finished.

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**A/n- That's the end! Seriously guys that was it! I'm going to start on the sequel teaser first, then the actual thing. Review this thing and hopefully it'll be up pretty soon! **

**THANKS FOR ALL PEOPLE WHO READ AND REVIEWED MY STORY I LOVE ALL YOU GUYS FOREVER! THIS IS MY FIRST COMPLETED FANFICTION I'M SO EXCITED!**

**Thanks…**

**Kristaa**


	25. TEASER CHAPTER FOR SEQUEL!

**A/n- Ok, here's the teaser chapter/intro thing for the sequel to Enemies Clash. Just for you faithful readers and reviewers out there. You guys don't have to review this, but I'd be cool to tell me what you think of the idea. **

**Oh, for future reference…you may want to know…the name of this story is…**

**Lovers and Friends**

**So..yeah…got any better titles? Lemme know…but for now, this is it. **

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**Here's the summary of the story. A shortened version of this will be used for that summary thing. But here's what it's about:**

Voldemort is gone. Sadness has been washed over by happiness of the wizarding community. Harry Potter is crowned a hero. Life couldn't be better for a wizard or witch these days. But in the life of Draco Malfoy, nothing seems to be right. He and his new wife, Hermione, face the challenges of all newly-weds. Their friends, Harry, Ginny, Seamus and Parvati know something's wrong, but what's up? Only time will show for the new couple. In this sequel to Enemies Clash, a 24-part DM/HG fic, a lot of new things come, but the old are back. Welcome to Lovers and Friends, by mAlFoYiSaWeSoMe.

**These are just clips of what's to come. Don't quote me on these; they may not be used exactly how they are. **

"Damn it Parvati! You're always messing up everything! What the hell is wrong with you?" Seamus screamed. Parvati ran down the hall, mad because of her stupid mistake and because of Seamus yelling. This had happened too long ago, and she didn't want to think about it. Seamus needed to learn to understand her, and just deal with it.

"Baby, I'm sorry, don't cry, please," he cooed, trying to win her back.

"No, you're right. I made a mistake, but Seamus, I don't regret it."

"Ginny why didn't you tell me!" Hermione squealed next to her best friend.

"You never told me anything," she defended.

"I told you like the day after. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I thought it would be weird. You're best friends with Harry."

"Ron, why did you leave us? Why did you leave me all alone? I have no one to talk to about girls, not that you would want to know about your sister or anything," Harry said, chuckling to himself. "I wish you hadn't gone. But you got what you wanted; Hermione and Draco are happy, even without you. But I can't say I am."

"Hermione, can we talk?" Draco asked, scooting closer to Hermione, who was trying to fill out a work paper form.

"Yeah, sure, anything honey," she said, not believing she had called Draco 'honey'. She was acting way too much like a wife nowadays.

"Don't call me honey, please," he begged, and Hermione smiled.

"Sorry."

"Anyways, I was thinking maybe…if you wanted, that is…if we could think about kids? Like having our own, maybe?" Draco said hopefully.

Hermione put the pencil down and stared straight at him.

"I'm 18 years old Draco. Give me a little time," she said, a bit angered by his request.

Draco sighed. "Fine," he said, giving up and leaning back. There was no arguing with her on this one, if she didn't want to, they didn't have to.

"Listen, Draco, I want to. I really do," she said, turning back to him. "But I'm too young for this. We just got married. Someday, soon, we will, alright?"

"Oh Pav, he's adorable! He looks just like Ron, that's so cute," Padma said, not noticing that everyone else in the room looked quite solemn.

"He's adorable, like a little Ron," Mrs. Weasley said, brushing a tear from her eye. A single lonely tear ran down Hermione's cheek before dropping onto Draco's shoulder.

"WHAT! You're going where!" Hermione exploded.

"A little ways away, Hermione, just cool it," Draco said, trying to calm her down.

"Cool it? COOL IT Draco? You're going away for 3 weeks!"

"I have a reason Hermione. I need to train for quidditch. You want me to win don't you? I'm England's seeker, 'Mione, understand, please?" he explained, laying a hand on her shoulder.

She pushed his hand away. "I'm going with you."

"Harry, why don't you just trust me!" Ginny screamed, and it probably would have woken up the whole of the castle if Harry hadn't placed a silencing charm around his office.

"I trust you, it's them I don't trust!" he yelled back.

"You have to trust me enough not to do anything. Harry, I told you I would never cheat on you. I'm not cheating on you. I just can't be with you all the time. Do you want me to leave my friends like Hermione left us?" she shot back, and Harry calmed down.

"No," he muttered.

"Good. Please understand. I'm going to go to dinner, come by my dorm later and maybe I'll reward you," she teased, and Harry smiled widely. She winked as she left his office.

"Harry, this is a breakthrough, for you and the Ministry," Dumbledore said, as soon as Harry took his place in his office.

"What is it sir?"

"I just received a call from the Ministry. You'll want to hear this," he explained, sitting across the Harry.

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**A/n- Ok, tell me what you think. I skipped around, because I will be using a few different characters in this story. I'll be looking into Hermione/Draco mostly, but a little Harry/Ginny and Parvati/Seamus too. Tell me what you guys thought. **

**Yes, there were a lot of cliffs there, but that's to keep you guessing. Hope you liked. **

**Krista.**


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